?::!»!!;  ;ji:!:::!li;::;:::!!:i 

■ -iliiiiliii 

tiaii'***! !  ;i***'**I 

■“jJi •*'•'•*  * ' *  «»»**^***I#ii*>' ♦ 

liiiiiiiiii 
aiiiii  iiiiiifiiii 


Hi!:!::;-" 

lii  iifi 

NilP  l  iiiiiiiil 


ipiiiiiiiiifpi 


lililii 

ii  fSii  iilSiSSSS! 
««i|  iiiiSiiii 

I'!!:!!!  !!•!!){  !  •<!■! 


i?  as  K 

.  ■  *4  * 


vSt.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy  Death, 
Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dviinr  vSinners  ! 

O 


PIOUS  UNION  IN  HONOR  OF 
ST.  JOSEPH 

Patron  of  a  Happy  Death 


The  Salvation  of  the  Dying 


By 

Rev.  P.  Hugolinus  Storff,  0.  F.  M. 


FRANCISCAN  MONASTERY 
3140  Meiamec  Street 
St.  Eouis,  Mo. 


“Amerika” 


Print,  18  South  Sixth  St. 


_  1  _ 


Imprimatur. 

Joannes  J.  Glennon, 

Archiepiscopus  St.  Ludovici. 

Sti.  Ludovici, 
die  7.  Feb.  1914. 


Imprimi  Permittitur. 

Fr.  Benedictus  Schmidt,  O.  F.  M. 
Min.  Provlis. 


2  — 


Approval  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archhishop  of 
8t.  Louis,  Mo. 

Archbishop’s  House, 

St.  Louis,  Dec.  15,  1913. 

My  Dear  Reverend  Father: 

I  send  you  returned  enclosed  my  good 
wishes  for  the  Union,  composed  of  the  more 
fervent  members  of  the  society  established 
by  you  some  time  ago  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  the  “Dying”  by  their  prayers.  I 
gladly  give  my  approval  to  the  enclosed 
papers,  and  wish  you  and  the  society  suc¬ 
cess  and  every  blessing. 

Yours  sincerely, 

John  J.  Glennon, 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis. 

N.  B. — The  enclosed  papers  contained  the 
Establishment  of  the  Pious  Union  of  St.  Jo¬ 
seph,  Patron  of  a  Happy  Death,  for  the  Sal¬ 
vation  of  the  Dying  Sinners;  the  Conditions  v 
for  actual  membership;  and  the  Act  of  Con-  i 
secration  for  the  Dying,  which  papers  were  i 
signed  with  the  “Imprimatur,”  to  which  i 
the  following  commendation  was  added: 

“I  approve  and  heartily  commend  -  this 
very  charitable  organization.” 

John  J.  Glennon, 
Archbishop  of  fet.  Louis. 

St.  Louis,  December  14,  1913. 


—  3  — 


Approdation  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of 
Alton,  III. 

Alton,  III.,  Feb.  25,  1914. 

Dear  Father: 

You  have  my  most  cordial  approbation  for 
the  Union  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  publication 
of  your  most  excellent  Manual.  May  Al¬ 
mighty  God  bless  and  prosper  more  and 
more  efforts  so  well  calculated  to  increase 
piety  and  spread  devotion! 

Yours  truly  in  Christ, 

James  Ryan, 

Bishop  of  Alton. 


Approbation  of  the  Most  Rev.  Father  Gen¬ 
eral  of  the  Franciscan  Order. 

Rome,  January  17,  1914. 

Reverend  Father: 

The  Lord  give  thee  Peace! 

After  receiving  the  documents,  relating  to 
the  “Pious  Union  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph, 
Patron  of  a  Happy  Death,  for  the  Salvation 
of  the  Dying,”  which  you  sent  me  with  your 
letter  of  Dec.  12th,  I  myself  carefully  read 
them  and  thereupon  entrusted  the  same  to 
another  Father  for  examination. 

Whereas  it  is  evident  that  nothing  op¬ 
posed  to  faith  or  good  morals  is  contained 
in  said  documents,  but  on  the  contrary 
much  good,  and  that  of  the  greatest  impor- 


4  — 


f 


tance,  can  be  expected  from  this  Union,  I 
gladly  impart  to  said  work  and  the  organi¬ 
zation,  as  far  as  lies  in  my  power,  my  ap¬ 
proval  together  with  the  Seraphic  Blessing, 
in  order  that  from  day  to  day  it  may  be¬ 
come  more  and  more  widely  spread  among 
the  faithful  who  with  their  whole  heart  will 
devote  themselves  to  the  Work,  thus  to  as¬ 
sist  the  Dying  in  life’s  last  decisive  struggle, 
upon  which  their  eternity  depends  and  to 
open  to  them  the  gates  of  everlasting  hap¬ 
piness. 

May  Christ  Jesus  dying  for  us  on  the 
Cross  and  St.  Joseph,  the  Patron  of  the 
Dying,  bless  the  work  and  bestow  upon  the 
well-deserving  members  an  abundant  re¬ 
ward. 

Imparting  to  you  my  blessing  with  pater¬ 
nal  affection,  I  remain  in  the  Sacred  Heart- 
of  Jesus, 

Your  most  devoted, 

Fr.  Pacificus, 

Minister  General. 


y 


—  5  — 


Pious  Union  in  Honor  of  St.  Joseph, 

Patron  of  a  Happy  Death,  for  the 
Salvation  of  the  Dying  Sinners. 

This  Union  has  been  founded  for  the 
purpose  of  effectually  helping  every  day 
the  poor  Dying  Sinners,  especially  those 
who  are  still  in  the  state  of  mortal  sin, 
and,  therefore,  in  the  proximate  danger 
of  being  eternally  lost. 

Conditions  for  Actual  Membership : 

1)  To  make  the  Act  of  Consecration 
for  the  Dying. 

2)  To  show  a  special  love  for  this 
work  and  to  consider  the  Salvation  of 
the  Dying  the  great  object  of  one’s  life 
and  work. 

3)  To  strive  to  lead  a  good  life  and 
to  perform  one’s  duties  with  a  good  in¬ 
tention,  out  of  obedience  and  love  of 
God. 

4)  Frequently  to  call  God’s  mercy 
on  the  Dying  by  saying  for  them :  ‘  ‘  My 
Jesus,  Mercy!” 

(300  Days’  Indulgence.) 

5)  At  every  Mass  we  hear  to  offer  up 
at  the  Consecration  the  Most  Precious 


—  6  — 


Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  Salvation 
of  the  Dying. 

6)  To  receive  Holy  Communion  fre¬ 
quently,  that  is,  as  often  as  it  can  con¬ 
veniently  be  done,  and  either  to  offer  it 
up  for  the  Dying,  or  at  least  to  pray  for 
the  Dying  immediately  after  receiving 
Holy  Communion. 

7)  To  ask  and  encourage  others  to 
help  the  good  work  either  by  joining 
the  Society  or  by  having  Holy  Masses 
said  for  the  Dying. 

8)  If  any  person  is  dying  close  by,  to 
assist  such  a  person,  if  it  can  conveni¬ 
ently  be  done. 

9)  To  report  occasionally  to  the  Di¬ 
rector  about  the  progress  of  the  work. 

10)  To  venerate  in  a  special  manner 
St.  Joseph  as  the  Patron  of  the  Dying, 
for  which  reason  this  Union  and  its 
work  and  members  have  been  placed  un¬ 
der  the  special  Protection  of  St.  Joseph 

-as  the  Patron  of  the  Dying. 


—  7  — 


Act  of  Consecration  for  the  Dying. 

I  promise  to  Almighty  God,  the  dear 
Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  our  Im¬ 
maculate  Mother  Mary,  St.  Joseph,  our 
Patron  (our  holy  Father  St.  Francis), 
and  to  my  Guardian  Angel  to  consecrate 
my  whole  life  and  my  life’s  work  for 
the  Salvation  of  the  poor  Dying  Sinners, 
especially  those  who  on  account  of  mor¬ 
tal  sin  are  in  the  greatest  and -proximate 
danger  of  being  eternally  lost.  As  far 
as  I  can  and  my  other  obligations  per¬ 
mit,  I  now  give  and  offer  up  through  the 
hands  of  Mary  Immaculate  and  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  all  my  good  works,  prayers,  and 
sacrifices  in  Union  with  the  Precious 
Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  and  all  the  Holy 
Masses,  that  they  may  continually  plead 
for  the  Dying  and  obtain  for  them  all 
the  graces  necessary  and  conducive  to 
their  eternal  Salvation.  In  union  with 
the  Loving  and  Agonizing  Heart  of  Je¬ 
sus  I  wish  to  live,  work,  and  die  for 
them.  My  Jesus,  Mercy !  Amen. 


—  8  — 


PART  I.  i 

'v': 

The  Salvation  of  the  Dying  and  a  ^ 

-h 

Happy  Hour  op  Death.  ‘ 

I.  Object  of  the  Work. 

Dear  Friend  and  Kind  Reader  : 

Did  you  ever  seriously  consider  that  { 
the  most  important  grace  for  every  man 
is  the  grace  of  a  happy  death,  that  means,  j 
a  death  in  the  love  and  friendship  of  a  j 
merciful  God?  Although  all  would  like  | 
to  die  well,  yet  how  few  even  think  of  J 
duly  preparing  or  properly  working  for 
it!  To  many  death  comes  as  an  utter  , 
surprise,  since  it  finds  them  entirely  un-  I 
prepared.  And  yet,  upon  the  moment  j 
of  death  will  depend  an  eternity  of  j 
either  unspeakable  happiness  in  heaven  f 
or  greatest  misery  in  hell.  Should  | 
Christian  prudence  not  move  you  to  pro-  1 
vide  in  due  time  the  best  possible  means  r 
of  securing  for  yourself  the  grace  of  a 
happy  death?  However,  we  must  not  I 
forget  that  this  grace  of  final  persever-  j 
ance  can  not  be  merited  in  the  strict 


—  9  — 


sense  of  the  word,  as  it  is  a  special  gift 
of  God’s  mercy  and  kindness.  Bnt  this 
great  mercy  of  God  will  not  be  refused 
to  those  whom  God  himself  promised  it. 
For  Jesus  Christ  himself  has  said: 
‘  ‘  Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they 
shall  obtain  mercy;”  and:  “With  what 
measure  you  mete,  it  shall  be  measured 
to  you  again.  ’  ’  Firmly  relying  on  these 
promises  of  Christ,  every  Christian  who 
sincerely  wishes  to  obtain  a  happy  death, 
should  strive  most  earnestly  to  render 
God  merciful  to  his  soul  by  performing 
I  works  of  mercy  for  his  neighbor.  Which, 
i  then,  is  the  best  and  greatest  work  of 
I  mercy  that  we  can  perform  for  our 
neighbor  at  any  time,  no  matter  in  what 
circumstances  we  may  be?  It  is  the 
work  especially  recommended  in  this  lit¬ 
tle  book :  ‘  ‘  The  Salvation  of  the  poor 
Dying  Sinners.”  The  purpose  of  this 
little  book  is,  therefore,  to  help  the  poor 
Dying  Sinners  and,  by  daily  imploring 
the  mercy  of  God,  to  save  as  many  of 
them  as  possible.  By  this  work  of  mercy, 
faithfully  practised  till  the  end  of  our 


10 


life,  we  confidently  hope  to  obtain  the 
same  mercy  of  God  at  the  moment  of 
our  own  death,  namely,  the  grace  of  a 
happy  death.  As  St.  Joseph  is  the  spe¬ 
cial  Patron  of  the  Dying,  he  shall  be  our 
Model,  Leader,  and  Protector  in  this 
work. 

Dear  friend  and  kind  reader,  take  this 
little  book;  read,  pray,  reflect  seriously, 
and  then  resolve  courageously  to  help 
this  work  of  mercy  as  much  as  you  can 
for  the  honor  and  love  of  God,  for  your 
own  welfare,  and  for  the  eternal  Salva-  . 
tion  of  many  immortal  souls.  May  Je¬ 
sus,  the  merciful  Savior  of  all  poor  sin¬ 
ners,  move  your  charitable  heart  and 
say  to  you,  as  he  said  in  the  Gospel: 

‘  ‘  This  do,  and  thou  shalt  live.  ’  ’ 

II.  The  Number  of  the  Dying. 

Do  you  know  what  is  the  actual  num¬ 
ber  of  the  Dying  every  day,  every  week,  ■ 
every  month,  and  every  year  in  the  | 
whole  world  ?  According  to  the  most  re¬ 
liable  statistics,  every  day  about  120,000 
die  and  must  appear  before  the  judg-  I 


—  11  — 


ment-seat  of  God.  This  means  that  every 
second  one  person  is  dying;  every  min¬ 
ute  about  80  persons,  every  hour  nearly 
5,000,  every  day  about  120,000,  every 
week  over  800,000,  every  month  over  3 
millions,  and  every  year  about  40  mil¬ 
lions  of  men  die,  which  is  about  the  40th 
part  of  the  whole  .human  race.  What  a 
great  number !  And  some  day  in  the 
future  you  will  be  one  of  them,  who 
knows  how  soon  ?  •  Consider  now  well 
that  every  moment  some  person  is  dying 
and  is  perhaps  in  the  greatest  danger  of 
being  lost  forever.  Does  this  not  clearly 
show  you  that  this  work  of  charity  and 
mercy  is  continually  needed,  more  than 
any  other?  What  we  need  now,  is  a 
number  of  fervent  Christians  who  will 
daily,  nay  hourly,  pray  for  the  Dying 
Sinners,  even  if  it  is  but  the  short  ejac¬ 
ulation:  ‘‘My  Jesus,  mercy  on  the  poor 
Dying  Sinners !  ’  ’  What  is  still  better,  is 
a  number  of  truly  charitable  and  heroic 
souls,  who  will  not  only  pray,  but  also 
continually  work  for  the  Dying  and  by 
the  Act  of  Consecration  make  of  their 


—  12 


whole  life  a  constant  pleading  to  the 
throne  of  Mercy  for  the  Salvation  of  the 
Dying.  You  will  surely  one,  day  belong 
to  the  number  of  the  Dying,  will  you  not 
also  belong  to  the  number  of  those,  who 
try  hard  to  save  the  poor  Dying  Sin¬ 
ners?  Ask  now  your  charitable  heart: 
‘‘How  many  would  you  like  to  save?” 
The  more  you  will  save,  the  surer  will  be 
your  own  Salvation,  for  those  who  have 
been  saved  by  your  prayers  and  good 
works  will  pray  and  plead  also  for  you 
at  the  moment  of  your  own  death. 
Therefore  come,  join  the  pious  Union, 
and  even  induce  others  to  take  up  this 
good  work;  the  more  members  we  get, 
the  better  it  will  be.  Although  our  num¬ 
ber  is  yet  small  when  compared  with  the 
great  number  of  the  Dying,  still  we  can 
do  a  great  deal  for  their  Salvation,  be¬ 
cause  God  himself  will  help  us  as  long 
as  we  wish  and  try  to  do  His  work. 


—  13  — 


III.  The  Religious  Condition  of  the 

Dying. 

How  many  of  the  Dying,  do  you 
think,  are.  in  the  state  of  sanctifying 
grace  and  actually  prepared  for  a  good 
death?  There  are  about  1,600  millions 
of  human  beings  living  on  the  earth.  Of 
these  about  one-half,  that  is,  700,000,000, 
are  still  pagan,  not  knowing  or  at  least 
not  honoring  the  one  true  God.  Of 
those  who  adore  the  one  true  God,  mil¬ 
lions  do  not  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  great  work  of  redemption,  as  the 
Jews  and  Mohammedans.  Of  the  Chris¬ 
tians  we  And  millions  separated  from  the 
only  true  Church  of  Christ,  namely,  all 
the  different  Protestant  and  Schismati- 
cal  sects.  Thus  of  the  1,600  millions  of 
men  only  about  250  millions  belong  to 
the  Catholic  Church  and  profess  the 
true  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  now 
carefully  consider  the  spiritual  and  re¬ 
ligious  condition  of  the  Catholics,  we 
find  that  a  great  many  are  Catholics 
only  in  name,  because  they  do  not  prac¬ 
tice  their  holy  religion.  How  few  prop- 


14  — 


erly  prepare  for  death  by  leading  a 
truly  Catholic  life  and  by  conscien¬ 
tiously  fulfilling  all  their  religious  du¬ 
ties  !  This  sad  religious  condition  of  the 
world  can  in  no  way  be  attributed  to 
God,  but  must  be  ascribed  to  the  sins 
and  crimes  of  the  different  nations  and 
of  men.  The  grace  of  the  true  faith  was 
offered  to  all  nations.  It  was  also  of¬ 
fered  in  some  way  to  all  men.  But  what 
has  happened?  These  nations  or  men 
either  rejected  the  light  and  grace  of  ! 
faith  or  afterwards  lost  it  through  their  I 
fault  or  the  fault  of  their  ancestors. 
Although  we  do  not  want  to  judge  or 
condemn  any  one  in  particular,  yet  we 
can  not  help  thinking  that  perhaps  most 
or  at  least  very  many  of  the  Dying  are 
not  in  the  state  of  sanctifying  grace,  or 
not  well  prepared  for  the  last  moment, 
and  thus  in  the  greatest  danger  of  being 
eternally  lost.  And  all  could  be  saved. 
All  that  is  needed  is  the  worthy  recep¬ 
tion  of  the  Holy  Sacraments,  or  a  good 
act  of  perfect  contrition.  This  may  in  ’ 
many  cases  require  a  special,  even  an 


—  15  — 


extraordinary  grace  of  God,  which  your 
charity,  your  prayers,  your  good  works, 
your  sacrifices  shall  obtain  for  them.  In 
such  a  way  you  may  perhaps  save  a 
great  many  immortal  souls  for  all  eter¬ 
nity.  What  a  vast  field  of  action  for 
your  charitable  heart !  Should  this  con¬ 
sideration  not  arouse  your  best  feelings 
and  animate  you  to  increased  fervor  to 
promote  this  work  of  charity  and 
mercy  ?  Will  you  now  join  the  ranks  of 
true  apostolic  laborers  and  help  the 
good  cause  with  all  zeal  and  fervor? 
Do  not  hesitate  any  longer,  for  every 
moment  is  precious.  As  the  Act  of  Con¬ 
secration  is  the  best  way  of  helping  the 
Dying  continually,  a  short  explanation 
of  this  Act  will  now  be  given. 

IV.  About  the  Act  of  Consecration  for 
the  Dying. 

•It  is  urged  by  the  rules  of  the  Union 
that  the  members  try  to  be  always  in  the 
state  of  sanctifying  grace  and  to  per¬ 
form  all  their  actions  in  the  spirit  of 
obedience  and  true  love  of  God  and  for 


—  16  — 


the  same  intention  that  Christ,  the 
Savior,  had  in  all  his  actions  and  suffer¬ 
ings,  namely,  the  honor  of  God,  his 
Father,  and  the  eternal  Salvation  of 
man.  Christ,  however,  honored  his 
Father  most  and  became  our  Savior 
principally  by  shedding  His  blood  and 
by  dying  for  us,  poor  sinners.  As  good 
'  Christians  we  should  try  to  return  this 
love  to  Christ  by  showing  the  same  love 
to  our  neighbor;  we  should  try  to  be¬ 
come  like  Christ  another  Savior  for  our 
neighbor.  This  is  done  in  a  general  way  | 
by  praying  and  working  for  the  conver-  | 
sion  of  sinners.  But  no  one  will  deny 
that  of  all  the  poor  sinners,  the  Dying 
Sinners  are  most  in  need  of  our  help. 
Severe  sickness,  entire  exhaustion,  cor¬ 
poral  and  mental  suffering,  the  dread  of 
the  impending  judgment,  the  uncer¬ 
tainty  of  the  future  lot,  terrible  tempta¬ 
tions  of  the  devil,  using  once  more  his 
utmost  endeavors  to  ruin  the  soul  for- 
ever,  may  make  the  agony,  or  death- 
struggle,  very  hard,  perhaps  more  so  in  | 
the  soul  than  in  the  body.  The  Catholic 


—  17  — 


Church,  as  a  good  mother,  tries  to  help 
her  Dying  Children  by  the  last  Sacra¬ 
ments  and  the  assistance  of  the  priest  at 
the  last  moment.  But  what  about  the 
thousands  every  day  who  can  not  re¬ 
ceive  the  Holy  Sacraments  and  will  not 
have  the  assistance  of  a  priest  when  they 
are  dying?  The  hour  of  decision  is  at 
hand  and  death  is  the  most  important 
moment  of  our  whole  life,  becg^use  a 
never-ending  eternity  will  depend  upon 
it.  You  can,  therefore,  show  no  greater 
love  or  mercy  to  your  neighbor  than  by 
trying  to  procure  for  him  the  grace  of  a 
happy  death.  At  the  same  time  you  will 
show  the  greatest  love  to  your  Dying 
Savior. 

If  on  the  last  day  of  judgment  Christ 
will  say  to  those  who  fed  their  hungry 
neighbor :  “I  was  hungry,  and  you  gave 
me  to  eat,”  He  will  in  like  manner  say 
to  those  who  help  and  assist  their  dying 
neighbor:  “I  was  dying,  and  you 
helped  and  assisted  me.  Amen  I  say  to 
you,  as  long  as  you  did  it  to  one  of  these 
my  least  brethren,  you  did  it  to  me.” 

1 


18  — 


The  Dying  Sinners  should  therefore  re¬ 
present  to  you  Christ  dying  and  laden 
with  all  our  sins  and  you  should  piously 
believe  that  whatever  you  do  to  help  the 
Dying,  Christ  will  consider  it  as  being 
done  to  Him,  agonizing  in  the  garden  of 
Olives  and  dying  on  the  Cross. 

All  these  considerations  will  clearly 
show  why  for  the  members  of  the  Union 
the  special  intention  of  all  their  good  | 
works  and  prayers  should  be  :  ‘  ‘  To  save 
the  Dying  Sinners.”  But  to  help  the 
Dying  continually,  all  our  good  works, 
even  our  whole  life,  should  be  devoted 
to  this  great  cause.  This,  we  think,  is 
best  done  by  the  Act  of  Consecration 
and  Offering  for  the  Dying.  What, 
then,  do  we  really  offer  to  God  by  this 
Act?  We  must  know  that  every  good 
work,  performed  in  the  state  of  sanctify¬ 
ing  grace  and  with  a  good  intention  will 
produce  a  threefold  good  fruit : 

1 )  The  fruit  of  real  merit,  this  means, 
we  merit  an  increase  of  sanctifying 
grace  and  of  our  glory  in  heaven.  This  i 
fruit  of  our  good  works  remains  always  ; 


—  19  — 


a  personal  merit  and  can  never  be  given 
to  any  other  person. 

2)  The  fruit  of  satisfaction,  by  which 
we  atone  for  our  past  offences  and  sat¬ 
isfy  Divine  Justice  for  the  punishments 
deserved  for  our  sins.  This  fruit  of  our 
good  works  may  be  given  to  the  Poor 
Souls  in  Purgatory,  who  must  still  atone 
and  suffer*  for  their  past  offences.  The 
so-called  ‘‘Heroic  Act  for  the  Poor 
Souls’’  consists  in  this  that  a  person 
gives  to  God  through  the  hands  of  Mary 
all  the  satisfactions  of  the  good  works 
performed  by  him  that  God  may  apply 
these  satisfactions  to  the  Poor  Souls  to 
shorten  their  time  of  suffering  and  de¬ 
liver  them  from  purgatory. 

3)  The  fruit  of  impetration,  by  which 
we  obtain  new  actual  graces  that 
may  help  us  to  avoid  sin,  to  overcome 
difficulties  and  temptations,  to  perform 
other  good  works,  and  to  persevere  in 
doing  good  till  the  end.  This  third  fruit 
of  our  good  works  by  which  actual 
graces  are  obtained,  may  also  be  offered 
for  other  living  persons,  for  it  is  Catho- 


—  20  — 


lie  doctrine  that  by  prayers  and  good 
works  we  may  obtain  actual  graces  not 
only  for  ourselves,  but  also  for  others. 
The  Act  of  Consecration  for  the  Dying 
consists  in  this  that,  as  far  as  we  are  not 
bound  to  pray  and  work  for  ourselves  or 
others,  the  fruit  of  impetration  of*  all 
our  prayers  and  good  works  shall  be  of¬ 
fered  to  God  for  the  Salvation  of  the 
poor  Dying  Sinners.  To  meet  some  ob¬ 
jections  that  might  be  made  against  this 
Act,  the  following  points  should  be  well 
considered : 

1)  This  Act  for  the  Dying  is  entirely 
compatible  with  the  Heroic  Act  for  the 
Poor  Souls.  For  by  the  Heroic  Act  for 
the  Poor  Souls  we  can  give  them  only 
the  satisfactory  merit  of  our  good  works. 
However,  by  the  Act  for  the  Dying  we  . 
wish  to  obtain  actual  graces  for  the  eter¬ 
nal  Salvation  of  the  Dying.  But  the 
Poor  Souls  are  safe  for  all  eternity,  and 
can  not  receive  any  more  graces,  since 
with  the  moment  of  death  the  time  of  j 
grace  has  elapsed.  Both  Acts  may  there-  ’ 
fore  be  made  at  the  same  time,  if  a  per- 


—  21  — 


son  wishes  to  do  so  to  help  both  the  liv¬ 
ing  and  the  dead. 

2)  The  Act  for  the  Dying  does  not 
hinder  any  one  of  us  from  praying  for 
some  other  intention  or  some  other  per¬ 
son  for  whom  we  are  bound  or  wish  to 
pray.  For  this  reason  the  words:  “As 
far  as  I  am  able  and  my  other  obliga¬ 
tions  permit”  were  expressly  inserted  in 
the  Act.  But  consider  that  so  many 
prayers,  devotions,  and  good  works  are 
performed  without  any  special  intention 
or  application  and  by  making  the  Act 
all  these  prayers  and  good  works  will  be 
offered  for  the  Dying.  Besides,  we  may 
have  several  good  intentions  in  our  pray¬ 
ers  and  good  works  and  thus  we  can 
always  include  the  Dying  in  the  good 
works  and  prayers  that  are  offered  for 
others. 

3)  If  it  is  said  that  we  continually 
need  the  grace  of  God  to  work  out  our 
own  salvation,  we  answer  that  this  is 
true  indeed;  but  mind  well  that  Jesus 
Christ  expressly  said :  ‘  ‘  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself.”  Therefore 


_  22  — 


true  charity  will  work  as  hard  for  the 
salvation  of  one’s  neighbor  as  for  one’s 
own  salvation.  Know  also  that  God  is 
infinite  in  bounty  and  in  response  to  our 
prayers  and  works  of  charity  He  will 
gladly  give  His  graces  not  only  to  us, 
but  also  to  the  Dying,  if  with  true  Chris¬ 
tian  charity  we  always  include  them  and 
thus  desire  not  only  our  own  salvation, 
but  also  the  salvation  of  our  neighbor. 

4)  Never  forget  that  our  eternal  sal¬ 
vation  will  principally  depend  upon  the 
mercy  of  God.  But  the  surest  way  of 
securing  the  mercy  of  God  for  us  is  to 
show  mercy  to  our  neighbor,  as  Christ 
himself  has  said :  ‘  ‘  Blessed  are  the  mer¬ 
ciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.” 
Again :  ‘  ^  Take  heed,  what  you  hear  : 
With  what  measure,  you  shall  mete,  it 
shall  be  measured  to  you  again.”  Now 
there  is  no  greater  act  of  true  mercy  and 
charity  for  our  neighbor  tharr  by  con¬ 
tinual  endeavor  to  work  for  his  eternal 
Salvation. 

5)  Of  all  our  suffering  brethren  the 
Dying  are  perhaps  the  most  neglected. 


—  23 


although  they  are  in  the  greatest  need  of 
our  help.  How  many  Masses  are  daily 
said  for  the  Poor  Souls  in  Purgatory, 
but  how  few  for  the  Salvation  of  the 
Dying !  Yet  the  Poor  Souls  are  safe  for 
all  eternity,  but  every  day  many  of  the 
Dying  Sinners  are  in  the  greatest  and 
immediate  danger  of  being  eternally 
lost.  Your  charity  may  save  at  least 
some  of  them.  Which  is,  then,  the 
greater  work  of  charity;  ‘‘To  free  a 
Poor  Soul  from  Purgatory,  or  to  save  a 
Dying  Sinner  from  eternal  hell-fire  ?  ’  ’ 

6)  The  Act  of  Consecration  for  the 
Dying  shall  even  make  the  Salvation  of 
the  Dying  the  main  object  of  our  whole 
life  and  of  our  life ’s  work.  As  an  artist 
lives  for  his  art,  continually  works  for  it 
and  tries  to  make  the  best  success  of  it, 
thus  we  wish  to  live,  to  work,  and  even 
to  die  for  the  Salvation  of  the  Dying. 
Our  life  shall  be  a  continual  sacrifice  for 
them.  Even  our  death  accepted  with 
perfect  resignation  to  God ’s  holy  will  in 
union  with  the  death  of  Christ  shall  be 


—  24  — 


offered  to  God  to  help  those  who  will  be 
dying  at  the  same  time. 

7)  To  render  this  Act  the  more  effi¬ 
cacious,  we  shall  unite  our  prayers, 
good  works,  and  sacrifices  first  with  the 
precious  Blood  of  Christ,  as  it  is  the 
price  of  our  redemption,  and  secondly 
with  all  the  holy  Masses  that  are  cele¬ 
brated  every  day,  since  in  Holy  Mass 
Christ  continually  renews  the  Sacrifice 
of  the  Cross  and  offers  again  his  Body 
and  Blood  for  the  remission  of  sins.  We 
are,  then,  praying  and  working  in  union 
with  our  blessed  Savior  who  promised 
US:  “Whatever  you  shall  ask  the  Father 
in  my  name,  that  will  I  do.”  Knowing 
moreover  our  sinfulness  and  unworthi¬ 
ness,  we  make  the  offering  of  the  Act 
through  the  hands  of  Mary  Immaculate 
and  St.  Joseph.  In  her  Immaculate 
Conception  Mary  conquered  the  devil 
and  crushed  his  head.  The  Immaculate 
Conception  shall  also  obtain  the  victory 
over  the  devil  in  the  souls  of  the  Dying, 
and  Mary  will  thus  prove  to  be  the  best 
Mother  of  the  Poor  Dying  Sinners. 


—  25  — 


Since  St.  Joseph,  is  the  Patron  of  the 
Dying,  he  was  chosen  to  be  the  special 
Protector  of  this  work,  who  with  Mary 
shall  present  our  Act  of  offering  to  God. 

8)  Therefore  the  real  meaning  of  the 

Act  of  Consecration  for  the  Dying  is 
this:  “Without  making  a  vow,  we 

promise,  as  far  as  we  can,  and  our  other 
obligations  permit,  to  give  to  God 
through  the  hands  of  Mary  Immaculate 
and  St.  Joseph  all  the  good  works,  pray¬ 
ers,  and  sacrifices  of  our  whole  life  for 
the  eternal  Salvation  of  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  ’ '  How  many  will  you  now  try 
to  save  with  God’s  grace?  How  many 
of  the  120,000  persons  that  die  every 
day  need  your  helping  hand  to  rescue 
them  from  eternal  perdition? 

9)  Do  you  truly  love  jthe  great  St. 
Joseph?  Then  venerate  him  as  the  spe¬ 
cial  Patron  of  the  Dying,  as  the  best 
Patron  of  a  Happy  Death.  Since  the 
Union  was  instituted  in  honor  of  St.  Jo¬ 
seph,  let  the  lovers  of  St.  Joseph  and  the 
workers  for  the  Dying  attentively  read 
the  following  explanation  and  take  it  to 


—  20 


heart.  May  the  dear  St.  Joseph  bless 
this  work,  adopt  it  as  his  own,  and 
crown  it  with  success ! 

V.  St.  Joseph,  the  Patron  of  the  Dying. 

To  increase  proper  devotion  to  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
happy  hour  of  death  both  for  ourselves 
and  for  the  poor  Dying  Sinners,  it  will 
be  very  good  for  the  members  of  the 
Union  to  know  why  St.  Joseph  is  consid¬ 
ered  the  best  Patron  of  the  Dying  to  ob¬ 
tain  for  them  the  grace  of  a  happy 
death.  A  brief  explanation  of  the  rea¬ 
sons  v/hich  moved  the  church  to  give  St. 
Joseph  in  the  approved  Litany  the  title, 
‘‘Patron  of  the  Dying,”  will  also  show 
the  members  of  this  Union  why  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  was  chosen  as  its  principal  Pa¬ 
tron. 

1)  St.  Joseph  was  the  person  to  whom 
the  ever-blessed  Trinity  entrusted  its 
greatest  treasures  on  earth,  namely  Je¬ 
sus  and  Mary.  But  on  Jesus  and  Mary 
rests  our  principal  hope  of  eternal  Sal¬ 
vation.  This  ought  to  show  us  that  God 


27 


Himself  looked  upon  St.  Joseph  as  the 
most  faithful  Guardian  and  Protector  of 
both  the  Savior  and  His  dearest  Mother 
Mary  and  their  joint  work,  the  Salva¬ 
tion  of  man.  Then  we,  too,  should  en¬ 
trust  to  St.  Joseph  the  greatest  treasure 
we  have,  our  immortal  soul,  and  its  most 
important  affair,  our. eternal  Salvation. 
But  the  Salvation  of  our  soul  will  chiefly 
depend  upon  our  death,*  for  a  happy 
death  in  the  state  of  sanctifying  grace 
will  bring  us  eternal  happiness,  but  an 
unhappy  death  in  the  state  of  mortal 
sin  will  cause  eternal  damnation.  We 
should,  therefore,  entrust  principally  to 
St.  Joseph  the  last  hour  of  our  life  and 
the  moment  of  our  death  by  making  him 
our  Patron  of  a  happy  death. 

2)  St.  Joseph  was  prefigured  by  Jo¬ 
seph  of  Egypt.  What  the  Egyptian  Jo¬ 
seph  Avas  and  did  for  his  family  and  the 
people  of  Egypt,  St.  Joseph  shall  be  and 
do  for  his  family  and  his  people  in  the 
New  Law.  As  Joseph  of  Egypt  was 
called  in  the  language  of  the  Egyptians, 
“the  Savior  of  the  world,”  thus  St.  Jo- 


—  28  — 


sepli  shall  become  for  us  the  Savior  by 
obtaining  the  grace  of  a  happy  death. 
As  Joseph  of  Egypt  was  made  the  first 
minister  of  king  Pharaoh,  thus  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  is  now  the  first  minister  of  our 
heavenly  king,  Jesus  Christ.  This  Heav¬ 
enly  King  directs  us  in  our  greatest  need 
to  St.  Joseph,  and  like  the  king  of  Egypt 
says  to  us:  ‘‘Go  to  Joseph  and  do  all 
that  he  shall  say  to  you.  ’  ’  Whenever 
we  resemble  the  people  of  Egypt  and  are 
in  danger  of  dying  an  eternal  death  on 
account  of  spiritual  want  and  famine, 
St.  Joseph  shall  give  us  the  heavenly 
bread,  Jesus  Christ,  to  preserve  our  soul 
to  life  everlasting.  Like  the  people  of 
Egypt  we  should  then  say  to  St.  Joseph : 
“Give  us  bread,  why  should  we  die  in 
thy  presence?  .  .  .  Our  life  is  in  thy 
hand,  only  let  my  lord  look  favorably 
upon  us,  and  we  will  gladly  serve  the 
king.”  In  like  manner  we  should  pray 
to  St.  Joseph:  “O,  St.  Joseph,  our  life 
is  in  thy  hand,  thou  art  our  Patron,  pro¬ 
tect  us  by  thy  presence  from  eternal 
death,  look  now  favorably  upon  us,  give 


—  29  — 


us  Christ,  our  best  bread,  and  we  will 
gladly  serve  Him,  our  heavenly  king.  ’  ’ 

3)  But  the  dignity  and  power  of  St. 
Joseph  is  by  far  greater  than  that  of  Jo¬ 
seph  of  Egypt.  St.  Joseph  is  the  Fos¬ 
ter-Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God.  Thus  St.  Joseph  alone  shares  in 
the  dignity  of  the  heavenly  Father. 
Both  Jesus  and  Mary  call  him  by  that 
sweet  name,  ‘‘Father.”  Mary  said  to  Je¬ 
sus  when  she  found  him  in  the  temple  : 
“Son,  why  hast  Thou  done  so  to  us? 
Behold,  thy  father  and  I  have  sought 
thee  sorrowing.”  Besides,  St.  Joseph  is 
also  the  spouse  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  and  the  head  of  the  Holy  Family 
of  God  on  earth.  With  this  threefold 
high  dignity  and  power  given  to  no 
other  Saint  of  God,  St.  Joseph  must  in¬ 
deed  be  the  best  Patron  of  the  Dying, 
the  best  Patron  of  a  happy  death.  For 
we  can  only  be  saved,  if  we  die  as  the 
adopted  children  of  God,  our  heavenly 
Father,  as  the  spiritual  children  of 
Mary,  our  heavenly  Mother,  and  as  liv¬ 
ing  members  of  the  great  family  of  God 


p 


—  so¬ 
on  earth,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 
But  it  is  clear  that  no  one  is  better  fitted 
to  obtain  these  graces  and  favors  for  us 
at  the  hour  of  our  death  than  St.  Jo¬ 
seph.  If  at  the  moment  of  death,  St. 
Joseph  is  our  spiritual  Foster-Father, 
and  we  his  foster-children,  he  will  see 
that  we  also  die  as  the  children  of  God, 
the  heavenly  Father,  whose  place  he  took 
on  earth  and  with  whom  he  alone  shares 
that  sweet  name,  ‘‘Father  of  Jesus.” 
Besides,  St.  Joseph,  being  the  spouse  of 
Mary,  is  best  fitted  to  make  us  the  spir¬ 
itual  children  of  Mary.  No  other  Saint 
is  so  closely  united  with  Mary  as  St.  Jo¬ 
seph.  The  two  are  like  one  heart  and 
one  soul.  Mary  will  then  he  the  special 
loving  Mother  of  those  who  at  death  are 
the  spiritual  children  of  St.  Joseph,  for, 
whom  St.  Joseph  loves,  also  Mary  will 
love.  Moreover,  St.  Joseph  is  also  the 
special  Patron  of  the  Universal  Church, 
the  present  family  of  God  on  earth.  The 
Patron  of  the  Church  will  take  the  best 
care  that  his  devoted  children  and  clients 
will  die  as  good  members  of  the  Catholic 


31 


Church,  the  family  of  God,  now  spe¬ 
cially  entrusted  to  him.  Know  then  that 
if  you  wish  to  die  as  a  good  Christian, 
you  must  like  Christ  be  under  the  spe¬ 
cial  care  and  protection  of  St.  Joseph,  if 
you  wish  to  die  as  a  true  child  of  Mary, 
you  must  be  a  foster-child  of  St.  eTo- 
seph,  and  if  you  wish  to  die  as  a  good 
Catholic,  St.  Joseph,  the  Patron  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  must  also  be  your  spe¬ 
cial  Patron  at  your  death.  Thus  it  is 
clear  that  St.  Joseph  is  best  fitted  to  be 
the  Patron  of  the  Dying. 

4)  St.  Joseph  will  gladly  do  for  his‘ 
spiritual  children  what  he  did  for  the 
Child  Jesus,  which  again  points  him  out 
as  the  best  Patron  of  the  Dying.  When 
the  wicked  king  Herod  sought  to  kill 
the  Infant  Jesus,  St.  Joseph  saved  the 
Savior  for  us  by  fleeing  to  Egypt.  But 
this  work  of  saving  the  life  of  Christ 
from  the  danger  of  death  was  entrusted 
by  God  to  St.  Joseph.  Thus  when  we 
are  in  danger  of  losing  the  Savior  and 
our  eternal  life,  especially  at  the  hour  of  ' 
death,  on  account  of  the  most  wicked 


32 


and  cruel  king,  the  devil,  so  well  prefig¬ 
ured  by  Herod,  we  shall  be  safe,  if  we 
are  under  the  special  protection  of  St. 
Joseph,  sinee  he  will  guard  the  life  of 
the  Savior  in  our  soul  by  frustrating  the . 
evil  designs  of  the  devil.  It  was  also  St. 
Joseph,  who  with  great  sorrow  sought 
Jesus  after  the  child  was  lost,  and  found  ' 
Him  again  after  three  days  in  the  tern-  ^ 
pie.  In  like  manner,  if  we  should  have  the 
misfortune  of  losing  Jesus  by  mortal! 
sin,  let  us  call  upon  St.  Joseph  that  he,! 
as  our  Patron,  may  help  us  to  seek  Jesus ; 
in  the  sorrow  of  our  heart  by  an  aet  of  ! 
perfect  Contrition  and  a  sincere  Confes-] 
sion  and  find  Him  again  in  the  temple] 
of  our  own  heart  by  a  worthy,  holy  Com- 1 
munion.  If  St.  Joseph  is  our  Patron  of  ] 
a  happy  death,  he  will  surely  help  us! 
not  to  lose  Jesus  at  the  moment  of  death,! 
but  to  find  Him  then  as  a  loving,  merci-| 
fill  Savior  to  the  greatest  joy  of  our' 
heart. 

5)  St.  Joseph  himself -had  the  most 
liappy  death,  for,  as  tradition  relates,  he 
died  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  of  Mary. 


-  33  — 


He  therefore  best  knows  what  it  means 
to  die  a  holy  and  a  happy  death ;  he  also 
knows  that  this  is  the  greatest  grace  and 
favor  God  can  bestow  on  any  man. 
Therefore  if  he  is  our  Patron,  he  will  try 
to  obtain  this  grace  and  favor  for  his 
devoted  children.  As  to  the  power  of 
St.  Joseph,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it 
is  very  great  in  heaven,  for  Jesus  who 
had  been  obedient  to  St.  Joseph  on 
earth,  will  even  obey  him  in  heaven,  at 
least  not  refuse  him  any  petition  in 
favor  of  his  children.  We  must  not  for¬ 
get  that  next  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
no  one  stood  in  closer  relation  to  Jesus 
on  earth  than  St.  Joseph.  We  may  then 
safely  say  that  a  good  child  and  client  of 
St.  Joseph  will  not  be  lost.  For  this 
reason  we  should  choose  him  as  our  spe¬ 
cial  Patron  of  a  happy  death  and  invoke 
him  every  day  as  the  great  Patron  of 
the  Dying. 

6)  But  nothing  will  please  St.  Joseph 
more  than  if  we  try  to  imitate  his  holy 
example  by  becoming  also  Patrons  of 
the  Dying  in  consecrating  our  whole  life 


34  — 


for  the  Salvation  of  the  Dying.  This  is 
the  reason  why  we  have  chosen  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  as  the  special  Patron  for  our 
Union,  and  we  do  not  donbt  that  the 
dear  St.  Joseph  will  prove  to  he  our 
powerful  helper  and  protector  in  this 
great  work  of  saving  the  poor  Dying 
Sinners.  But  what  will  be  our  reward 
as  members  of  this  Union?  If  we  work 
hard  with  the  kind  and  powerful  assist¬ 
ance  of  St.  Joseph  daily  to  save  as  many 
as  we  can,  St.  Joseph  will  recognize  us 
as  his  best  children  both  at  the  moment 
of  death  and  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  God.  Jesus,  called  ‘Hhe  Son  of  Jo¬ 
seph,”  will  not  condemn  those  whom  St. 

J oseph  will  present  to  Him  as  his  special 
devoted  children  and  clients.  You  ask  ' 
for  your  reward  ?  If  you  faithfully  imi¬ 
tate  St.  Joseph  as  Patron  of  the  Dying, 
you  may  confidently  hope  that  he  will  . 
bring  Jesus  and  Mary  to  your  dying- 
bed,  that  you  die  like  him  in  their  sweet 
embrace.  What  a  strong  incentive  to  . 
join  this  Union  and  be  a  faithful  mem¬ 
ber,  that  means,  to  be  a  most  zealous 


35  — 


worker  for  the  Salvation  of  the  poor 
Dying  Sinners  under  the  Patronage  of 
St.  Joseph ! 

Remember  well  that  every  day  over 
100,000  persons  die  and  perhaps  most  of 
them  are  in  the  greatest  danger  of  being 
eternally  lost;  therefore,  in  the  greatest 
need  of  our  help.  St.  Joseph  will  gladly 
help  us  in  a  work  so  dear  to  him  and  he 
will  also  see  to  our  proper  reward. 
Those  who  join  this  Union  should  make 
the  Act  of  Consecration  before  an  altar 
or  statue  of  St.  Joseph  and  renew  it 
from  time  to  time,  especially,  on  the 
feasts  of  St.  Joseph.  The  following 
prayers  are  added  for  the  convenience 
of  the  lovers  of  St.  Joseph  to  help  them 
in  their  devotion  to  this  great  Saint  and 
powerful  Protector.  Let  the  members 
of  this  Union  often  say  with  great  confi¬ 
dence  and  fervor:  ‘‘St.  Joseph,  Patron 
of  a  happy  death,  pray  for  us  and  the 
poor  Dying  Sinners.  Amen.’^ 


—  36  — 


YI. 

Devotions  and  Prayers  to  St.  Joseph 
FOR  THE  Dying. 

The  Seven  Sorrows  and  Seven  Joys  of 
St.  Joseph. 

This  devotion  owes  its  origin -to  a  cele¬ 
brated  event,  never  omitted  by  any  his¬ 
torian  of  the  Saint.  It  is  as  follows : 

Two  Franciscan  Fathers  were  sailing 
along  the  coast  of  Flanders,  when  a  ter¬ 
rible  tempest  arose,  which  sank  the  ves¬ 
sel  with  its  three  hundred  passengers. 
The  two  Fathers  had  sufficient  presence 
of  mind  to  seize  hold  of  a  plank,  upon 
which  they  were  tossed  to  and  fro  upon 
the  waves  for  three  days  and  nights.  In 
their  danger  and  affliction  their  whole 
recourse  was  to  St.  Joseph,  whom  they 
begged  for  assistance  in  their  sad  condi¬ 
tion.  The  Saint,  thus  invoked,  appeared 
in  the  habit  of  a  young  man  of  beauti¬ 
ful  features,  encouraged  them  to  con¬ 
fide  in  his  assistance,  and  as  their  pilot, 
conducted  them  into  a  safe  harbor. 
They,  desirous  to  knqw  who  their  bene- 


—  37  — 


factor  was,  asked  his  name,  that  they 
might  gratefully  acknowledge  so  great  a 
favor  and  blessing.  He  told  them  he  was 
St.  Joseph,  and  advised  them  daily  to 
recite  seven  times  ‘‘Our  Father”  and 
“Hail  Mary”  in  memory  of  his  seven 
dolors  or  griefs,  and  of  his  seven  joys;_ 
and  then  disappeared.  This  beautiful 
devotion  has  been  specially  applied  for 
the  needs  of  the  Dying  that  St.  Joseph, 
their  special  Patron,  may  safely  conduct 
them  into  the  harbor  of  eternal  bliss. 

The  Seven  Dolors  and  Joys  of  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  for  the  Dying. 

•  1)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  chaste  Hus¬ 
band  of  most  holy  Mary,  great  was  thy 
grief,  when  in  a  state  of  great  uncer¬ 
tainty  thou  wast  minded  to  put  away 
Mary,  thy  stainless  spouse.  But  how 
great  was  thy  joy,  when  the  angel  re¬ 
vealed  to  thee  the  sublime  mystery  of 
Christ’s  Incarnation  and  the  great  dig¬ 
nity  of  Mary,  as  Mother  of  God.  By 
this  thy  grief  and  thy  joy  we  pray  thee 
to  relieve  the  Dying  of  all  anxieties  and 


38  — 


dreadful  doubts  about  their  future  state 
and  fill  their  hearts  with  the  greatest 
confidence  in  the  powerful  protection  of 
Mary,  the  Immaculate  Mother  of  God. 
Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

2)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  chosen  Fos¬ 
ter-Father  of  the  Word  made  man,  great 
was  thy  grief,  when  thou  didst  see  the 
Infant  J esus  born  in  such  extreme  pov¬ 
erty.  But  how  great  was  thy  joy  when 
thou  didst  behold  the  brightness  of  that 
holy  night  in  which  the  angels  sang: 
‘‘Glory  to  God  in  the  highest  and  on 
earth  peace  to  men  of  good  will.  ’  ’  By 
this  thy  grief  and  thy  joy,  we  pray  thee 
to  obtain  by  thy  powerful  intercession 
for  all  the  Dying  the  grace  that  the  In¬ 
fant  Jesus  may  again  be  born  in  their  i 
hearts,  and  that  blessed  with  the  sweet  j 
peace  of  God,  they  may  also  join  after! 
their  death  the  joyful  company  of  the^ 
angels.  Amen.  ; 


—  39  — 


V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

3)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  Model  of 
perfect  Obedience,  great  was  thy  grief, 
when  at  the  Circumcision  the  Infant  Je¬ 
sus  shed  His  first  precious  blood.  But 
how  great  was  thy  joy,  when  thou  didst 
give  Him  the  sweet  name  of  Jesus,  that 
should  bring  Salvation  to  the  sinners. 
By  this  thy  grief  and  thy  joy  we  pray 
thee  to  assist  the  Dying  in  their  greatest 

-  need  by  applying  to  their  souls  the  most 
precious  blood  of  Jesus,  that  being 
cleansed  from  sin  they  may  depart  with 
the  sweet  name  of  Jesus  on  their  lips 
and  in  their  hearts,  and  thus  be  saved 
for  all  eternity.  Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

4)  O  glorious  St.  Joseph,  faithful 
Companion  of  Mary,  great  was  thy  grief, 
when  at  the  presentation  of  the  Infant 


—  40  — 


in  the  temple  thou  didst  hear  Simeon’s 
•prophecy  of  the  future  sufferings  of  Je¬ 
sus  and  of  Mary,  hut  how  great  was  thy 
joy  when  Simeon  foretold  that  Jesus 
would  be  the  light  for  the  revelation  of 
the  gentiles,  the  glory  of  his  people,  and 
the  resurrection  of  many  in  Israel.  By 
this  thy  grief  and  thy  joy  we  pray  thee 
to  assist  the  Dying  that  through  the 
light  and  the  grace  of  the  Infant  Jesus 
and  the  power  of  the  sorrowful  Mother, 
the  Dying  like  Simeon  may  also  see  their 
Salvation  and  praise  and  thank  God  for 
the  grace  of  a  happy  death.  Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

5)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  Protector  of 
the  Infant  Jesus,  great  was  thy  grief 
when  obeying  the  voice  of  the  angel, 
thou  didst  flee  with  the  Infant  Jesus 
and  His  Mother  Mary  to  Egypt.  But 
how  great  was  thy  joy  when  at  the  en¬ 
trance  into  Egypt  the  idols  were  de¬ 
stroyed,  by  falling  to  the  ground.  By 


/ 


—  41  — 

this  thy  grief  and  thy  joy  we  pray  thee 
to  help  the  Dying  to  banish  from  their 
hearts  all  idols  of  sinful  habits  that  Je¬ 
sus  and  Mary  may  come  and  lead  their 
souls  to  the  land  of  eternal  bliss.  Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
■  Sinners.  Amen. 

6)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  Head  and 
Guardian  of  the  Holy  Family,  great  was 
thy  grief  when  at  the  return  from 
.  Egypt  thou  didst  hear  that  cruel  Arehe- 
laus  was  reigning  in  Judea  in  place  of 
Herod.  But  how  great  was  thy  joy 
when  the  angel  of  God  directed  thee  to 
go  to  Nazareth,  where  thou  didst  live 
most  peacefully  with  Jesus  and  Mary 
till  thy  happy  death.  By  this  thy  grief 
and  thy  joy  we  pray  thee  to  assist  the 
Dying  that  they  overcome  all  attacks  of 
the  evil  spirits  and  die  peacefully  under 
the  special  protection  of  Jesus  and 
Mary.  Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 


42  — 


R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

7)  0  glorious  St.  Joseph,  Best  Patron  ' 
of  the  Dying,  great  was  thy  grief  when 
without  thy  fault  thou  didst  lose  Jesus 
and  seek  Him  for  three  days.  But  how  j 
great  was  thy  joy  when  thou  didst  find  j 
Him  again  in  the  temple.  By  this  thy  j 
grief  and  thy  joy  we  pray  thee  to  help  ( 
the  Dying  not  to  lose  their  Savior  for  all  j 
eternity,  but  to  find  Him  at  least  at  the  | 
moment  of  death  with  His  grace  and  ] 
mercy  in  the  temple  of  their  own  hearts. 
Let  us  all  die  like  thee  in  the  sweet  em¬ 
brace  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Amen. 

V.  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy 
Death, 

R.  Pray  for  us  and  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  Amen. 

Litayiy  of  St.  Joseph. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Christ,  hear  us. 

Christ,  graciously  hear  us. 


.ffiiii  III  ir^t— 


—  43 


God,  the  Father  of  Heaven,  * **)) 

God,  the  Son,  Redeemer  of  the  world. 
God,  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Holy  Trinity,  One  God. 

Holy  Mary. 

St.  Joseph. 

Illustrious  Scion  of  David. 

Light  of  Patriarchs. 

Spouse  of  the  Mother  of  God. 

Chaste  Guardian  of  the  Virgin. 
Foster-Father  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Watchful  Defender  of  Christ. 

Head  of  the  Holy  Family. 

Joseph  most  just. 

Joseph  most  chaste. 

Joseph  most  prudent. 

Joseph  most  valiant. 

Joseph  most  obedient. 

Joseph  most  faithful. 

Mirror  of  patience. 

Lover  of  poverty. 

Model  of  workmen. 

Glory  of  domestic  life. 


*)  Have  mercy  on  us. 

**)  Pray  for  us. 


_  44  — 


Guardian  of  virgins.  ) 

Pillar  of  families. 

Solace  of  the  afflicted. 

Hope  of  the  sick. 

Patron  of  the  dying. 

Terror  of  demons. 

Protector  of  Holy  Church. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,  spare  us,  0  Lord. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the  , 
sins  of  the  world,  graciously  hear  us,  O 
Lord. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,  hhve  mercy  on  us,  0 
Lord. 

V.  He  hath  made  him  the  Lord  of  his 
house. 

R.  And  the  ruler  of  'all  his  posses¬ 
sions. 

Let  us  Pray: 

0  God,  who  by  thy  unspeakable  provi-  ; 
dence  didst  deign  to  choose  Blessed  Jo¬ 
seph  to  be  the  spouse  of  Thy  most  holy 
Mother,  grant  that  as  we  venerate  him  . 


'1 


*)  Pray  for  us. 


—  45  — 


for  our  Protector  on  earth,  we  may  de¬ 
serve  to  have  him  as  an  intercessor  in 
heaven,  who  livest  and  reignest  forever 
and  ever.  Amen. 

Act  of  Consecration  to  St.  Joseph,  Pa¬ 
tron  of  the  Dying. 

0  Blessed  Joseph,  faithful  Guardian 
of  my  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  protector 
of  thy  chaste  spouse,  the  virgin  Mother 
of  God,  and  best  Patron  of  the  Dying,  I 
choose  thee  this  day  to  he  my  special  Pa¬ 
tron  and  Helper  for  the  work  of  saving 
the  poor  Dying  Sinners.  I  firmly  re¬ 
solve  to  honor  thee  all  the  days  of  my 
life  and  to  pray  and  work  for  the  Salva¬ 
tion  of  the  Dying  under  thy  guidance 
and  powerful  protection.  Therefore  I 
humbly  beseech  thee  to  receive  me  as  thy 
client,  to  instruct  me  in  every  doubt,  to 
comfort  me  in  every  affliction,  to  obtain 
for  me  and  others  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  and  Mary, 
and  finally  to  defend  and  protect  me  and 
all  poor  sinners  at  the  hour  of  death. 
Amen. 


46  — 


The  ‘‘ Memo7’are”  in  Honor  of  St. 

J  oseph. 

Remember,  0  most  pure  spouse  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  my  sweet  Protec¬ 
tor,  St.  Joseph :  that  no  one  ever  had  re¬ 
course  to  thy  protection,  or  implored  thy 
aid  without  obtaining  relief.  Confiding, 
therefore,  in  thy  goodness  I  come  before 
thee  and  humbly  supplicate  thee.  Oh, 
despise  not  my  petitions,  Foster-Father 
of  my  Redeemer,  but  graciously  receive  ' 
them.  Amen. 

(Indulgence  of  300  days,  once  a  day.  Pius 
IX,  June  26,  1863.) 

Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  a  Happy 

Death. 

0  Blessed  Joseph,  who  didst  yield  thy 
last  breath  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  of 
Mary,  when  God  will  send  death  to  end 
our  career  of  life,  come  Holy  Father  . 
with  Jesus  and  Mary  to  aid  us  and  to 
obtain  this  grace  for  us  to  accept  death  - 
with  perfect  resignation  to  God’s  holy 
will,  and  in  union  with  the  bitter  death  j 
of  Jesus  that  by  our  death  we  may  atone 
for  our  own  sins  and  help  the  other  poor  | 

i 


—  47  — 


Dying  Sinners.  Let  us  all  die  in  the 
sweet  embrace  of  Jesus  and  of  Mary. 
Into  your  sacred  hands,  Jesus,  Mary, 
Joseph,  we  living  and  dying  commend 
our  souls.  Amen. 

Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  the  Dying 
Sinners. 

0  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  the  Dying,  by 
the  love  of  Jesus  and  of  Mary,  we  ask 
thee,  our  best  Helper  and  Protector,  to 
come  to  the  aid  of  all  poor  Dying  Sin- 
'ners.  Bring  to  them  the  light  of  the 
true  faith  from  God,  the  heavenly 
Father  whose  place  thou  didst  take  on 
earth.  Let  them  put  all  their  hope  in 
the  blood,  passion,  and  death  of  thy  dear 
Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior.  Pill  their 
soul  with  the  perfect  love  of  God,  the 
best  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Make  them 
now  the  spiritual  children  of  thy  most 
chaste  spouse,  our  dear  Mother  Mary 
Immaculate.  Exercise  thy  power  against 
the  devil  who  tries  his  best  tu  ruin  the 
Dying  Sinners  forever.  Thus  we  pray 
that  by  thy  help  and  powerful  interces- 


48  — 


sion  with  Jesus  and  Mary  the  Dying 
may  obtain  the  grace  of  a  happy  death. 
Amen. 

Prayers  in  Honor  of  St.  Joseph  for  the 

Agonizing. 

Eternal  Father,  by  Thy  love  for  St. 
Joseph,  whom  Thou  didst  select  from 
among  all  men  to  represent  Thee  upon 
earth,  have  mercy  on  us  and  on  the  Dy¬ 
ing.  Our  Father,  Hail  Mary,  Glory  be 
to  the  Father. 

Eternal  Divine  Son,  by  Thy  love  for 
St.  Joseph,  who  was  Thy  faithful  Guar¬ 
dian  upon  earth,  have  mercy  on  us  and 
on  the  Dying. 

Our  Father,  Hail  Mary,  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

Eternal  Divine  Spirit,  by  Thy  love 
for  St.  Joseph,  who  so  carefully  watched 
over  Mary,  Thy  beloved  spouse,  have 
mercy  on  us  and  on  the  Dying. 

Our  Father,  Hail  Mary,  Glory  be  to 
^  the  Father. 

(Indulgence  of  300  days,  once  a  day,  Leo 
XIII,  May  17,  1884.) 


—  49  — 


Prayer-  to  St.  Joseph ^  Patron  of  the  Dy¬ 
ing,  for  Perseverance. 

0  Dear  St.  Joseph,  Foster-Father  of 
our  Divine  Redeemer,  and  Spouse  of  our 
holy  Mother,  Mary  Immaculate,  thou 
didst  live  with  them  and  toil  for  them 
through  all  the  years  of  the  hidden  life, 
and  thou  didst  die  in  their  arms.  By 
the  love  thou  bearest  to  them  and  the 
love  they  bear  to  thee,  pray  for  us 
always  and  guard  us.  Obtain  for  us,  0 ' 
Patron  of  a  happy  death  the  grace  to 
live  and  die  in  God’s  love  and  favor, 
that  we  may  spend  our  eternity  with  Je¬ 
sus  and  Mary  and  with  thee,  0  dear  St. 
Joseph.  Amen. 

Novena  in  Honor  of  St.  Joseph,  Spouse 
of  Mary,  Most  Holy. 

The  Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pius  IX,  Nov. 
28,  1876,  granted  to  all  the  faithful  who 
with  contrite  heart  devoutly  make  at 
any  time  during  the  year  a  Novena  in 
honor  of  St.  Joseph,  Spouse  of  Mary, 
most  holy,  with  any  formula  of  prayer, 
provided  it  be  approved  by  competent 


50 


ecclesiastical  authority,  an  indulgence  of 
300  days,  once  a  day. 

Indulgenced  Prayers  to  St.  Joseph. 

St.  Joseph,  reputed  father  of  our  i 
Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  and  true  spouse  of : 
Mary,  ever  Virgin,  pray  for  us.  ■ 

(300  days,  once  a  day.  Leo  XIII,  May  15, 
1891.)  j 

St.  Joseph,  model  and  patron  of  those  | 

who  love  the  Sacret  Heart  of  Jesus,  pray 

for  us.  ' 

' 

(100  days,  once  a  day.  Leo  XIII,  Dec.  19,1 
1891.) 

Help  US,  Joseph,  in  our  earthly  strife, 

E  ’er  to  lead  a  pure  and  blameless  life.  ■ 

(300  days,  once  a  day.  Leo  XIII,  March  18,1 
1882.)  ? 

Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  I  give  you  my-f 
heart  and  my  soul.  '  j 

Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  assist  me  in  my| 
last  agony.  .  I 

/  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  may  I  hreathel 
forth  my  soul  in  peace  with  you.  ^ 

(300  days  for  all  three,  each  time  they  are 
said.  Pius  VII,  August  26,  1814.) 


—  51  — 


Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  the  Month  of 

October. 

To  thee  0  Blessed  Joseph,  we  have  re¬ 
course  in  our  affliction,  and  after  im¬ 
ploring  the  help  of  thy  most  holy 
Spouse,  we  confidently  invoke  thy  pat¬ 
ronage  also.  By  that  affection  which 
united  thee  with  the  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mother  of  God,  and  by  the  fatherly  love 
with  which  thou  didst  embrace  the  In¬ 
fant  Jesus,  look  down,  we  beseech  thee, 
with  gracious  eyes  on  the  precious  in¬ 
heritance,  which  Jesus  Christ  purchased 
by  His  blood,  and  help  us  in  our  necessi¬ 
ties  by  thy  power  and  aid.  Protect  0 
most  provident  Guardian  of  the  Holy 
Family,  the  elect  children  of  Jesus 
Christ;  ward  off  from  us  0  most  loving 
Father,  all  plagues  of  errors  and  deprav¬ 
ity;  be  propitious  to  us  from  heaven,  0 
most  powerful  Protector  in  this  our 
struggle  with  the  powers  of  darkness; 
and  as  thou  didst  once  rescue  the  child 
Jesus  from  the  greatest  peril  to  his  life, 
so  now  defend  God’s  holy  church  from 


—  52 


the  snares  of  the  enemy  and  all  adver¬ 
sity.  Finally,  shield  every  one  of  usi 
with  thy  patronage,  that,  imitating  thy 
example  and  strengthened  by  thy  help,i, 
we  may  live  a  holy  life,  die  a  happy 
death  and  attain  to  everlasting  happi¬ 
ness  in  heaven.  Amen. 

(300  days,  once  a  day,  Sept.  21,  1889.) 

Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  Grace^o  Com-] 
municate  Devoutly.  i 

0  Blessed  Joseph,  how  sweet  and; 
wonderful  a  privilege  was  thine,  not- 
only  to  see,  but  to  carry  in  thy  arms,  to  { 
kiss,  and  to  embrace  with  fatherly  alfec-j 
tion  that  only  begotten  Son  of  God,l 
Whom  so  many  kings  and  prophets  de-j 
sired  to  see,  but  were  not  able !  O  that,] 
inspired  by  thy  example  and  aided  by| 
thy  patronage,  I  may  often  with  like^ 
feelings  of  love  and  reverence,  embrace  | 
my  Lord  and  Redeemer  in  the  Blessed- 
Sacrament  of  the  altar,  so  that,  when: 
my  life  on  earth  is  ended,  I  may  merit- 
to  embrace  Him  eternally  in  heaven.' 
Amen. 


—  53  — 


Dedicate  the  month  of  March  and 
every  Wednesday  to  the  special  venera¬ 
tion  of  St.  Joseph.  Perform  then,  some 
special  devotion  in  his  honor,  for  which 
you  may  say  the  following  prayer : 

0  St.  Joseph,  who  for  nearly  thirty 
years  didst  live  in  the  blessed  company 
of  Jesus  and  of  Mary,  receive  the  humble 
service  by  which  I  wish  to  honor  thee 
this  month  (day)  and  help  me  that  I 
may  also  devote  all  the  days  of  my  life 
to  the  special  service  of  Jesus  and  of 
Mary  in  trying  to  save  the  poor  Dying 
Sinners  and  let  me  enjoy  thy  kind  pro¬ 
tection,  guidance,  and  blessing  for  this 
holy  work  till  death.  Amen. 

St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  Happy  Death, 
pray  for  us  and  the  poor  Dying  Sinners. 
Amen.- 


—  54  — 


VII. 

To  the  Lovers  of  St.  Joseph  and  the 
Zealous  Workers  for  the  Dying. 

To  encourage  the  members  of  the 
Union  to  remain  faithful  to  their  holy 
work,  let  them  consider  what  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary  revealed  to  the  Venerable 
Servant  of  God,  Mary  of  Agreda,  con¬ 
cerning  the  privileges  of  St.  Joseph,  his 
great  power  and  sanctity,  and  the  Devo¬ 
tion  for  the  Dying. 

Mary  of  Agreda  writes :  ‘  ‘  It  was  re¬ 
vealed  to  me  that  the  Most  High  has 
granted  St.  Joseph,  on  account  of  his 
holiness,  some  privileges  or  prerogatives 
in  favor  of  those  who  invoke  him  in  a 
proper  manner.  ’  ’  These  privileges  are : 

1)  Through  the  intercession  of  St.  Jo¬ 
seph  a  person  will  obtain  the  virtue  of 
chastity  and  victory  in  the  dangers  of 
impure  temptations. 

2)  Through  St.  Joseph  a  person  will 
receive  powerful  graces  of  assistance  to 
forsake  the  state  of  sin  and  to  return  to 
the’ friendship  of  God. 

3)  Through  the  mediation  of  St.  Jo- 


—  55  — 


seph  a  person  will  gain  the  favor  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  a  true  devo¬ 
tion  to  her. 

4)  Through  St.  Joseph  we  shall  ob¬ 
tain  the  grace  of  a  happy  death  and  pro¬ 
tection  against  the  devil  in  the  hour  of 
death. 

5)  The  evil  spirits  tremble  when  they 
hear  the  name  “Joseph.” 

6)  Through  him  we  can  obtain  health 
of  the  body  and  help  in  our  diverse 
needs. 

7)  His  intercession  will  obtain  for 
parents  the  grace  to  be  blessed  with  chil¬ 
dren. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  said  to  Mary  of 
Agreda : 

‘  ‘  Men  are  not  able  in  this  life  to  know 
the  sublime  holiness  of  St.  Joseph  who 
occupies  a  very  high  rank  amongst  the 
princes  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  But 
on  the  last  day  of  judgment,  the  damned 
will  bitterly  weep  that,  on  account  of 
their  sins,  they  did  not  know  what  a 
powerful  means  of  salvation  the  inter¬ 
cession  of  St.  Joseph  is  and  that  they 


—  56  — 


neglected  to  make  use  of  it  to  gain ; 
the  friendship  of  the  just  judge.  All , 
the  children  of  the  world  are  in  great/ 
ignorance  of  the  privileges  and  preroga-  ^ 
tives  which  the  Highest  Lord  has  ■ 
granted  to  my  spouse  and  of  the  power 
of  his  intercession  with  the  Divine  | 
Majesty  and  with  me.  I  assure  you  that 
in  heaven  he  is  one  of  the  most  intimate ; 
friends  of  the  Lord  and  that  he  can  do  ; 
much  to  keep  away  the  punishments  of^ 
Divine  J ustice  from  the  sinners.  En¬ 
deavor,  then,  all  the  time  of  your  life  to 
increase  in  the  devotion  and  hearty  love 
of  my  spouse.  Praise  the  Lord  that  he¬ 
lms  so  bountifully  enriched  him  with 
graces.  In  all  your  needs  ask  his  inter¬ 
cession  and  strive  to  gain  for  him 
numerous  clients.  What  my  spouse  asks; 
in  heaven,  this  the  Most  High  will  grant ; 
on  earth.  Great,  even  extraordinary 
graces  have  been  surely  promised  to  his 
petitions  for  the  salvation  of  men.” 

About  the  Devotion  for  the  Dying,  the 
Blessed  Virgin  said : 

“Not  without  special  reason  did  it 


—  57  — 


happen  that  your  heart  has  been  filled 
with  an  extraordinary  compassion  for 
the  Dying  and  with  a  special  desire  to 
help  them  in  the  hour  of  death.  It  is 
true  that  in  that  hour  the  souls  are  ex¬ 
posed  to  very  great  dangers  arising  from 
the  evil  spirits,  from  their  own  nature, 
and  the  things  of  this  world.  Death  is 
that  moment  in  which  the  acts  of  life 
are  closed,  and  the  final  judgment  is 
passed  which  decides  either  eternal  life 
or  eternal  death,  everlasting  pain  or  per¬ 
petual  glory.  The  Most  High  who  gave 
you  this  desire  (of  helping  the  Dying) 
will  also  grant  you  the  grace  to  fulfil  it 
indeed.  I,  too,  confirm  you  in  this  de¬ 
sire  and  exhort  you  to  use  all  endeavors 
to  cooperate  with  this  grace  and  to  obey 
the  Lord  and  me.  .  .  .  From  what  I  have 
said,  you  may  learn  how  exceedingly 
great  the  danger  is  that  death  brings 
along,  and  how  many  souls  will  perish 
in  that  hour  in  which  the  good  merits  as 
well  as  the  sins  begin  to  produce  their 
effects.  I  do  not  tell  you  how  many  will 
be  lost  ;  for,  if  you  are  filled  with  true 


—  58  — 


love  for  God,  you  would  die  of  grief,  if 
you  would  hear  it.  The  general  rule  is 
this,  that  a  good  life  is  followed  by  a 
good  death.  .  .  .  Prepare  your  soul 
that  you  may  gladly  accept  death,  when 
it  comes. 

“In  order  that  you  may  help  accord¬ 
ing  to  your  desire  those  who  are  in  this 
extreme  necessity  (the  Dying),  I  advise 
you  to  tell  all  to  care  for  their  soul  dur¬ 
ing  their  life-time.  Besides,  every  day, 
without  exception,  you  must  olfer  special 
prayers  for  this  intention.  Pray  with  a 
most  ardent  devotion  and  with  a  loud 
cry  of  your  heart  to  the  Almighty  that 
He  may  dispel  the  illusions  by  which  the 
evil  spirits  deceive  the  Dying,  pray  that 
God  may  destroy  the  snares  of  the  dev¬ 
ils,  frustrate  their  wicked  designs,  and 
with  His  Divine  Arm  confound  all  evil 
spirits.  You  know  that  I  have  prayed 
in  this  manner  for  the  Dying,  and  I  wish 
that  you  imitate  me  in  this  respect.  You 
shall  even  command  the  evil  spirits  in 
the  name  of  God  to  depart  from  the 
Dying  and  not  molest  them.  You  must 


—  59  — 


execute  these  admonitions  for  the  love 
of  God;  I  shall,  then,  obtain  from  His 
Majesty  several  privileges  for  you  as 
well  as  for  those  whom  vou  desire  to 
help  in  that  terrible  hour.  Be  not  stingy 
with  your  love,  for  in  this  matter  you 
work  not  by  your  own  power,  but  by  the 
power  of  the  Most  High  Who  Himself 
wishes  to  work  in  you.  ’  ’ 


o 


—  60  — 


PART  SECOND. 

Other  Devotions  and  Prayers  for  the 

Dying. 

I.  The  Agony  of  J esiis. 

Those  who  do  not  wish  to  make  the 
Act  of  Consecration  and  yet  would  lik^ 
to  help  the  Dying  may  join  the  Confra¬ 
ternity  of  the  Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus, 
which  is  under  the  same  direction  and 
with  which  the  Union  is  intimately  con¬ 
nected.  The  members  of  this  Confra¬ 
ternity  say  every  day  the  Daily  Prayer 
for  the  Dying  and  once  a  month  on  the 
day  appointed  or  on  the  following  Sun¬ 
day  pray  for  half  an  hour  for  the  Dy¬ 
ing,  which  may  be  done  by  hearing  Holy 
Mass  and  offering  it  up  for  them.  Since 
the  Agony  of  Jesus  was  His  greatest  suf¬ 
fering,  by  which  Christ  wished  to  rep¬ 
resent  the  condition  of  the  agonizing, 
to  sanctify  the  death-struggle,  and  to 
become  the  model,  consolation  and 
strength  for  the  Dying,  the  devotion  and 
meditation  of  the  Holy  Agony  of  Jesus 


61  — 


is  very  much  recommended  to  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Society. 

The  Daily  Prayer  for  the  Dying. 

O  most  merciful  Jesus,  lover  of  souls, 
I  pray  Thee  by  the  agony  of  Thy  most 
Sacred  Heart  and  by  the  sorrows  of  Thy 
Immaculate  Mother,  cleanse  in  Thy 
Blood  the  sinners  of  the  whole  world, 
who  are  now  in  their  Agony  and  are  to 
die  this  day.  Amen. 

Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  the  dying. 

(An  Indulgence  of  100  days  every  time  it  is 
said  with  a  contrite  heart  and  devotion.  If 
said  at  three  distinct  intervals  every  day 
during  the  month,  a  plenary  Indulgence  un¬ 
der  the  usual  conditions.  Pope  Pius  IX.  Feb. 
2,  1850.) 

Morning  and  Evening  Offering  for  the 

Dying. 

0  my  God,  for  the  Salvation  of  the 
Dying,  especially  for  those  who  are  to 
die  this  day  (night),  I  offer  to  Thee 
through  the  hands  of  Mary  Immaculate 
and  St.  Joseph,  our.  Patron,  all  my 
thoughts,  words,  actions,  and  sufferings 


1 


—  62  — 


of  this  day  and  of  my  whole  life  in 
union  with  the  good  works  of  our  asso¬ 
ciates  and  pious  Christians  and  with  the 
merits  of  all  the  Saints  in  Heaven.  But 
particularly  do  I  thus  offer  to  Thee  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  the  most  Precious 
Blood,  the  hitter  Passion  and  Death  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  sorrows  of  His  Dearest 
Mother  Mary,  and  all  the  Holy  Masses 
that  are  celebrated  to-day  (to-night) 
throughout  the  world.  I  desire  to  renew 
this  Act  of  Offering  for  the  Dying, 
whenever  shall  say:  “My  Jesus, 
Mercy,”  and  I  promise  again  to  conse¬ 
crate  my  whole  life  to  the  Salvation  of 
the  Poor  Dying  Sinners.  Give  me  the 
grace  to  persevere  in  this  noble  work  till 
death.  Amen. 

Pious  Practice  for  the  Faithful  in  Their 

Agony. 

If  one  says,  kneeling,  3  Our  Fathers 
in  remembrance  of  the  Passion  and 
Agony  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  3 
Hail  Mary’s,  in  memory  of  the  hitter 
sorrows  experienced  by  our  Lady  at  the 


—  63  — 


foot  of  the  Cross  during  the  Agony  of 
her  Divine  Son,  for  the  faithful  in  their 
Agony,  he  gains  each  time  an  Indul¬ 
gence  of  300  days,  and  if  said  once  a 
day  during  a  month  a  plenary  Indul¬ 
gence  under  the  usual  conditions. 

(Pope  Pius  VII,  April  18,  1809.) 

Meditation  on  the  Agony  of  Jesus. 
[For  the  Hour  of  Intercession  for  the 

Dying.] 

‘‘Jesus  knowing  that  His  hour  was 
come,  that  He  should  go  out  of  this 
world  to  the  Father,  having  loved  His 
own  who  were  in  the  world.  He  loved 
them  unto  the  end.” 

By  these  words  St.  John  describes  the 
infinite  love  that  was  burning  in  the 
Heart  of  Jesus  the  night  before  His  Pas¬ 
sion.  This  infinite  love  moved  Him  to 
institute  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  “the 
memorial  of  His  love,”  to  deliver  that 
beautiful  discourse  (“Love  one  another 
as  I  loved  you”) ,  and  that  fervent  prayer 
in  which  he  asked  his  Heavenly  Father : 
“That  the  love  wherewith  Thou  hast 


—  64  — 


loved  me,  may  be  in  them  and  I  inji 
them.”  He  then  goes  to  the  garden  of^ 
Olives  to  begin  His  Passion.  To  make 
Jesns,  so  to  speak,  fully  understand  and  l 
feel  the  cause,  the  extent,  and  the  effects.- 
of  His  bitter  Passion  and  Death,  Godji 
sends  to  him  that  terrible  suffering!.' 
which  caused  His  Agony  so  that  ‘‘His  i 
sweat  became  as  drops  of  blood  trickling ; 
down  upon  the  ground.  ’  ’  Consider  now,  i 
briefly,  the  causes  of  this  greatest  of  our  , 
Savior’s  sufferings.  ’  : 

I.  Christ  is  loaded  with  the  sins  of  all 
men  so  that  he  appears  before  the  Di¬ 
vine  Majesty  as  the  greatest  malefactor. 
If  you  now  consider  how  great  a  horror 
Jesus  feels  even  of  the  smallest  sin,  how 
much  must  it  then  grieve  and  oppress 
His  Heart  to  see  the  Inflnite  Majesty  so 
much  offended  and  outraged  by  most  un¬ 
grateful  creatures,  and  Himself  loaded:! 
with  all  their  sins  and  crimes. 

II.  Then  Almighty  God  shows  Jesus 
all  the  sufferings  that  our  Divine  Savior- ■ 
afterwards  took  upon  Himself  for  the- 
sins  and  crimes  of  all  men.  This  sight 


—  65  — 


has  the  effect  of  causing  Jesus  to  feel 
and  suffer  all  at  once  in  His  Heart, 
whatever  He  had  to  suffer  afterwards  in 
His  Holy  Body  by  being  scourged, 
crowned  with  thorns;  etc.  His  human 
nature  shudders  at  the  thought  of  so 
cruel  sufferings  and  so  ignominous  a 
death. 

III.  But  God  also  shows  Him  the 
effect  of  His  bitter  Passion  and  Death : 
that  the  honor  of  the  Most  High  would 
be  restored,  the  Divine  Justice  be  ap¬ 
peased,  mankind  be  reconciled  to  God, 
and  a  number  of  souls  be  eternally 
saved,  namely,  all  those  that  would 
strive  to  profit  by  His  Passion  and 
Death.  But,  at  the  same  time,  Christ 
also  foresees  that,  notwithstanding  all 
His  Sufferings,  a  great  many  will  de¬ 
spise  His  love,  even  abuse  and  profane 
His  Sacred  Blood,  and  on  that  account, 
be  condemned  to  eternal  hell-fire.  This 
foresight  greatly  increases  His  Suffer¬ 
ings  and  He  begins  to  become  “very 
sorrowful  even  unto  death.  ’  ’ 

IV.  There  arises  now  in  the  Heart  of 


—  66  — 


Jesus  the  greatest  struggle  between  His 
Infinite  Love  for  the  salvation  of  all  men 
and  the  Infinite  Justice  of  the  Divine 
Nature  demanding  the  eternal  reproba¬ 
tion  of  impenitent* sinners.  Christ’s  in¬ 
finite  Love  wishes  to  save  all  men,  as 
He  is  also  willing  to  suffer  and  die  for 
all.  Therefore,  He  begins  to  pray  and 
ask  His  Heavenly  Father:  ‘‘My  Father, 
if  it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice  pass 
from  me.”  This  longing  and  struggling 
for  the  salvation  of  souls  brings  Jesus 
into  a  state  of  so  great  an  agony  that  it 
even  presses  the  Blood  from  the  pores  of 
His  Body.  “His  sweat  became  as  drops  ! 
of  blood,  trickling  down  upon  the 
ground.  ” 

This  same  desire  for  the  salvation  of 
poor  sinners  makes  Jesus  also  exclaim 
in  His  Agony  on  the  Cross:  “My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?” 
by  which  words,  according  to  the  revela¬ 
tions  made  to  Ven.  Mary  of  Agreda,  Je-  ■ 
sus  principally  complains  of  being  for-  • 
saken  by  so  many  souls  that  He  wishes 
to  save  by  His  Death,  but  that  reject 


—  67  — 


His  Love  to  their  greater  eternal  dam¬ 
nation.  And  to  express  how  much  even 
at  the  moment  of  His  Death  He  longs 
for  their  salvation,  He  again  exclaims, 
‘  ‘  I  thirst,  ’  ’  that  means :  I  am  consumed 
by  the  most  ardent  desire  for  the  pos¬ 
session  of  these  immortal  souls. 

V.  Now  consider  that  all  the  sins  come 
from  the  heart  and  will  of  man  and, 
therefore,  Christ  principally  suffers  in 
His  Heart  to  atone  for  our  many  in¬ 
terior  sins.  Will  you  not,  then,  begin  to 
hate  and  avoid  sin?  Do  you  not  feel 
sorry  for  the  many  sins  of  your  past 
life?  Do  you  not  also  wish  to  save  im¬ 
mortal  souls  and  to  comfort  Jesus  in 
His  Agony  as  the  Angel  strengthens 
Him  in  the  garden  of  Olives?  But  Je¬ 
sus  says  to  you :  '  ‘  As  long  as  you  did  it 
to  one  of  these  my  brethren,  you  did  it 
to  me.”  When  you  clothed  your  neigh¬ 
bor,  you  clothed  your  Savior.  There¬ 
fore,  hasten  to  assist,  to  comfort,  to  save 
the  dying,  and  you  will  comfort  your 
Agonizing  Savior,  you  will  even  strug¬ 
gle  with  Him  for  the  salvation  of  im- 


—  68  — 


mortal  souls.  Thank,  then,  Jesus  for  the 
Agony  He  suffered  for  you  and  all  poor 
sinners,  and  promise  Him  to  show  your 
gratitude  by  serving  Him  in  the  Dying 
Sinners,  that  they  may  be  saved  for  all 
eternity. 

Litany  of  Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Olives. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Christ,  hear  us. 

Christ,  graciously  hear  us. 

God,  the  Father  of  Heaven,  have 
mercy  on  us. 

God,  the  Son,  Redeemer  of  the  world, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  have  mercy  on 
us. 

Holy  Trinity,  one  God,  have  mercy  on 
us. 

Jesus,  "Who  didst  go  to  a  solitary 
place  to  pray  before  delivering  Thyself 
up  to  Thine  enemies,  have  mercy  on  the 
Dying. 


69  — 


'  Jesus,  Whose  heart  was  oppressed  by 
f  mortal  sadness  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
'  semani,  have  mercy  on  the  Dying. 

I  Jesus,  filled  with  fear  at  the  thought 
1  of  the  torments  of  Thy  Passion  and  at 
our  sins,  have  mercy  on  the  Dying. 

Jesus,  overwhelmed  with  sadness  by 
foreseeing  the  fruitlessness  of  Thy  suf¬ 
ferings  for  souls  that  refuse  to  profit  by 
them,  have  mercy  on  the  Dying. 

Jesus,  strengthened  in  Thine  Agony 
by  an  Angel  from  Heaven,  have  mercy 
on  the  Dying. 

Jesus,  accepting  the  chalice  of  Thy 
Passion  for  love  of  us,  have  mercy  on  the 
Dying. 

Jesus,  Who  didst  say  in  the  midst  of 
Thine  anguish:  “Father,  not  My  will, 
but  Thine  be  done,”  have  mercy  on  the 
Dying. 

Jesus,  persevering  in  prayer,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  weakness  of  nature,  have 
mercy  on  the  Dying. 

Jesus,  Who  didst  come  to  Thine  Apos¬ 
tles  and  find  them  sleeping,  have  mercy 
on  the  Dying. 


70  — 


Jesus,  Who  didst  say  to  them :  ‘  ‘  Could  1 
you  not  watch  with  Me  one  hour  ?  ’  ’  have 
mercy  on  the  Dying. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the;' 
sins  of  the  world,  spare  us,  O  Lord. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,  graciously  hear  us.  O' 
Lord. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy  on  us,  O 
Lord. 

V.  Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus. 

R.  Have  mercy  on  the  Dying. 

Let  us  Pray: 

O  my  Divine  Savior,  remember  the. 
sadness  of  Heart  which  oppressed  Thee,; 
and  the  fear  which  Thou  hast  felt  when, 
being  in  Agony,  Thou  didst  pray  the 
longer  and  water  the  earth  with  a  Sweat  ] 
of  Blood.  I  offer  it  to  Thee  with  tender  ; 
love,  and  I  beseech  Thee,  by  every  drop 
of  that  Precious  Blood,  to  have  mercy  ( 
on  the  Dying,  and  to  put  away  all  their 
sins.  Amen.  .  1 


71  — 


Prayer  for  the  Dying. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ !  we  beseech  Thee, 
by  Thy  bitter  Agony  and  prayer  in  the 
garden,  that  Thou  wouldst  be  pleased  to 
be  an  advocate  with  Thy  eternal  Father 
in  behalf  of  these  Thy  servants :  lay  be¬ 
fore  Him  all  those  drops  of  blood  which, 
in  Thy  anguish  of  spirit,  flowed  from 
Thy  body,  and  offer  them  for  the  remis¬ 
sion  of  all  their  sins :  that  in  this  hour  of 
extremity  they  may  be  discharged  from 
that  handwriting  of  sin  which  stands 
against  them,  and  from  that  punishment 
which  they  fear  to  be  too  justly  due  to 
their  sins. 

Our  Father,  etc. ;  Hail,  Mary,  etc. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ !  who  for  our  sal¬ 
vation  was  pleased  to  suffer  death  on 
the  cross,  we  beseech  Thee  to  offer  all 
the  anguish  and  pains  Thou  didst  then 
endure,  and  most  especially  at  the  hour 
of  Thy  death,  in  behalf  of  these  Thy 
servants,  that  they  may  be  accepted  in 
their  favor,  for  the  good  of  their  souls, 
for  the  obtaining  of  a  happy  hour,  and 
for  the  release  from  that  punishment 


o 


—  72  — 

which  they  have  deserved  for  their  sins. 

Our  Father,  etc. ;  Hail,  Mary,  etc. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ !  who  hadst  such  a 
boundless  love  for  man  as  to  induce 
Thee  to  become  man  for  his  salvation, 
we  beseech  Thee  to  let  this.  Thy  infinite 
charity  and  goodness  towards  mankind, 
so  plead  in  behalf  of  these  Thy  poor 
servants,  that  by  Thy  powerful  media¬ 
tion  their  soul,  at  the  moment  of  its 
departure  from  the  body,  being  freed 
from  the  bonds  of  sin,  may  find  a  full 
admittance  through  the  gates  that  lead 
to  the  mansions  of  eternal  bliss. 

Our  Father,  etc. ;  Hail,  Mary,  etc. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ !  who  by  Thy  pre¬ 
cious  blood  has  redeemed  us,  we  beseech 
Thee .  to  imprint  deep  in  the  soul  of 
these  Thy  servants,  the  memory  of  Thy 
most  sacred  wounds,  that,  having  them 
perpetually  in  sight  they  may  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  suffer  with  patience  and 
resignation,  and  be  armed  against  all 
the  pangs  of  death.  Let  them  cheerfully 
submit  to  all  the  difficulties  of  their  con¬ 
dition,  and  begin,  even  here,  to  be  united 


—  73  — 


to  Thee  with  a  love  that  shall  never  end. 
Grant  them  now  to  partake  of  the  fruit 
of  Thy  holy  incarnation,  of  Thy  bitter 
passion,  of  Thy  glorious  resurrection 
and  admirable  ascension.  Grant  that 
they  may  be  sensible  of  the  effects  of 
Thy  holy  mysteries  and  sacraments,  and 
of  all  the  prayers  which  are  offered  by 
the  whole  church. 

Remember,  0  Lord,  that  Thou  wast 
once  in  the  straits  of  death ;  and  in  this 
extremity,  after  crying  out  to  Thy  eter¬ 
nal  Father,  and  commending  Thy  spirit 
to  Him  didst  expire.  Behold  now  these 
Thy  servants  in  their  anguish  crying 
aloud  to  Thee ;  stand  Thou  by  them,  de¬ 
fend  and  comfort  them  in  this  their  dis¬ 
tress,  and  receive  their  soul  into  Thy 
merciful  embraces. 

Remember,  0  Jesus,  that  Thy  arms 
were  stretched  forth.  Thy  side  opened, 
and  Thy  sacred  head  bowed  down  from 
the  cross;  have  regard  now,  we  beseech 
Thee,  to  the  soul  of  these  Thy  servants, 
which,  departing  out  of  this  world,  seeks 
refuge  in  Thee ;  receive  it  into  Thy  arms. 


—  74  — 


clasp  it  to  Thy  breast,  and  there  let  it 
hide  itself,  secured  from  the  attacks  of 
all  its  enemies,  till  the  anger  of  God 
pass  over.  Into  Thy  hands  we  commend 
their  spirit,  which  has  been  created  and 
redeemed  by  Thee ;  despise  not,  we  be¬ 
seech  Thee,  the  work  of  Thy  hands. 

0  Christ  Jesus,  who  wast  crucified  for 
our  redemption,  we  beseech  Thee,  by 
that  love  which  brought  Thee  from 
heaven,  to  have  compassion  on  the  soul 
of  Thy  servants;  forgive  them  all  their 
sins,  and  by  the  merits  of  Thy  bitter 
passion,  satisfy  for  all  their  failings  and 
supply  their  defects ;  let  them  now  expe¬ 
rience  the  multitude  of  Thy  tender  mer¬ 
cies,  and  be  sensible  how  good  Thou,  0 
Lord,  art.  Dispose  now  their  soul  by 
Thy  grace,  that  they  may  be  prepared  at 
Thy  call  to  go  forth  to  meet  Thee,  their 
heavenly  bridegroom.  Grant  them,  we. 
beseech  Thee,  true  patience  and  perfect 
resignation  in  their  pains  and  anguish. 
Give  them  full  discharge  from  all  their 
sins;  confirm  their  faith;  strengthen 
their  hope  and  perfect  their  charity. 


—  75  — 


that,  departing  hence,  their  soul  may  be 
received  into  Thy  mercy.  0  dear  Re¬ 
deemer,  by  that  distress  which  Thou 
didst  suffer  on  the  cross  when  Thou 
didst  cry  out  to  Thy  eternal  Father,  we 
pray  Thee  to  show  mercy  to  these  Thy 
servants  in  their  extremity ;  hear  the 
sighs  and  desires  of  their  heart;  and 
since  they  are  now  deprived  of  their 
faculty  of  speech,  speak  Thou  for  them, 
we  beseech  Thee,  who  art  the  eternal 
word,  and  to  whom  the  Father  will  re¬ 
fuse  nothing. 

By  Thy  victory  over  death,  and  the 
infinite  merits  of  Thy  passion,  we  be¬ 
seech  Thee,  on  behalf  of  these  servants, 
to  have  no  other  thoughts  than  of  peace, 
of  mercy  and  comfort,  and  not  of  afflic¬ 
tion.  Bear  them  up  against  all  distrust 
and  despair;  deliver  them  from  their 
necessities,  and  be  their  comforter  in 
their  distress.  Let  those  hands  which 
were  once  nailed  to  the  cross  now  plead 
for  them,  and  obtaining  their  pardon, 
conduct  them  to  eternal  rest.  Amen. 


—  7G  — 


II.  The  Precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 

St.  Paul  attributes  the  remission  of 
sins,  the  grace  of  our  redemption,  and 
our  eternal  Salvation  principally  to  the 
Most  Precious  Blood  of  Christ.  St. 
John  says :  ‘‘The  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanses  us  from  all  sin.”  It  is  there¬ 
fore  a  very  useful  devotion  to  offer  up 
the  Most  Precious  Blood  of  Christ  for 
the  poor  Dying  Sinners.  Especially  at 
the  Consecration  and  Elevation  of  the 
chalice  in  Holy  Mass,  this  offering  of  the 
Precious  Blood  should  prove  very  effic_a- 
cious  for  the  Dying.  For,  when  the 
priest  consecrates  the  Blood  of  Christ  in 
Holy  Mass,  he  says :  ‘  ‘  This  is  the  chalice 
of  my  Blood,  of  the  new  and  eternal  tes¬ 
tament,  a  mystery  of  faith,  which  shall 
be  shed  for  you  and  for  many -unto  the 
remission  of  sins.  ’  ’  May  the  word 
“Many”  in  this  formula  of  Consecra¬ 
tion  signify  the  Many  Dying  Sinners  of 
fhat  hour  and  day. 


—  77 


Nine  Offerings  of  the  Precious  Blood  for 

the  Dying. 

I. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 
shed  at  Thy  Circumcision,  when  Thou 
didst  receive  the  sweet  name  Jesus.  By 
this  Thy  Precious  Blood  and  Thy  Most 
Holy  Name,  ^we  ask  Thee  to  forgive  the 
Dying  all  sins  committed  against  faith. 
Grant  to  all  dying  children  the  grace  of 
holy  Baptism  and  to  the  rest  of  the  Dy¬ 
ing  the  light  of  the  true,  saving  faith. 
Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  M^ry.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thv 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen. 

II. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 


—  78  — 


which  trickled  down  at  Thy  Holy  Agony 
in  the  garden  of  Olives.  By  this  Thy 
Precious  Blood  and  Thy  Holy  Agony 
we  ask  Thee  to  forgive  the  Dying  all 
their  sins  of  ingratitude.  Grant  them 
the  grace  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  their  life 
and  to  die  with  full  resignation  to  the 
will  of  Thy  Heavenly  Father.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to  ■ 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,,  to  help  Thy  ■ 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy  f 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen,  i 

III.  ^ 

0  J esus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary  J 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for  | 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood  i 
shed  by  the  most  cruel  scourging  at  the  f 
pillar.  By  this  Thy  Precious  Blood  and  > 
all  the  wounds  of  Thy  mangled  body  we  * 
ask  Thee  to  forgive  the  Dying  all  their 
sins  of  impurity  and  to  clothe  their  souls  t 
with  the  beautiful  garment  of  sanctify- 
ing  grace  and  of  holy  purity.  Amen.  i 


—  79  — 


Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  J esus,  mercy.  Amen. 

IV. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 
pressed  out  of  Thy  Sacred  Head  by  the 
horrible  crown  of  thorns.  By  this  Thy 
Precious  Blood  and  the  sufferings  of 
Thy  Sacred  Head  we  ask  Thee  to  for¬ 
give  the  Dying  all  their  interior  sins 
committed  in  thought  and  desire,  espe- 
pecially  by  pride.  Grant  them  true  hu¬ 
mility  that  they  may  ask  for  pardon  and 
mercy.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen, 


—  •80 


V. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 
shed  when  carrying  the  heavy  Cross  and 
falling  so  often  under  its  weight.  By 
this  Thy  Precious  Blood  and  the  suffer¬ 
ings  of  Thy  repeated  falls  we  ask  Thee 
to  forgive  the  Dying  their  repeated  re¬ 
lapses  into  sin.  Grant  them  the  grace  to 
carry  their  cross  with  patience  as  atone¬ 
ment  for  their  many  sins.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  he  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen. 

VI. 

O  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  forJ 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood  ^ 
that  gushed  forth  from  Thy  Sacred ! 
Hands  and  Feet  when  being  nailed  to 
the  Cross.  By  this  Thy  Precious  Blood" 


—  Bl¬ 


and  the  wounds  of  Thy  Sacred  Hands 
and  Feet  we  ask  Thee  to  forgive  the  Dy¬ 
ing  all  their  exterior  sins  committed  by 
lany  bad  actions.  Unite  them  now  to 
Thy  holy  Cross  that  they  may  suffer  in 
the  spirit  of  true  penance.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen. 


0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 
that  was  flowing  from  all  the  wounds  of 
Thy  Holy  Body  when  hanging  on  the 
Cross.  By  this  Thy  Precious  Blood  and 
Thy  most  Holy  Death  we  ask  Thee  to 
forgive  the  Dying  all  sins  committed 
against  hope.  Let  them  not  despair, 
give  them  full  confidence  in  the  merits 
of  Thy  bitter  Passion  and  Death  and  as- 


—  82  — 


sist  them  at  the  last  moment  that  they 
may  die  a  truly  happy  death.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy .  Amen. 

VIII. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for  I 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood  i 
that  came  forth  from  Thy  Sacred  Heart 
when  pierced  with  a  lance.  By  this  Thy 
Precious  Blood  and  the  love  of  Thy  Sa¬ 
cred  Heart  we  ask  Thee  to  forgive  the 
Dying  all  their  sins  of  neglect,  and  after 
purifying  their  hearts  in  Thy  Precious 
Blood  to  enkindle  in  them  the  fire  ofi 
Thy  Divine  Love,  so  pleasing  to  ThyJ 
Heavenly  Father.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy  i 
servants,  I 


.  z' 


—  83  — 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen. 

IX. 

0  Jesus,  with  our  dear  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  we  adore  and  offer  up  for 
the  Dying  Sinners  all  Thy  Holy  Blood 
that  is  daily  flowing  on  all  our  altars  in 
all  the  Holy  Masses  for  th'e  remission  of 
sins.  By  this  Thy  Precious  Blood  and 
Thy  great  love  for  man  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  we  ask  Thee  to  forgive  the 
Dying  all  sins  committed  against  Thee 
in  the  Holy  Eucharist.  From  this  most 
Holy  Sacrament  plead  now,  0  Jesus, 
with  Thy  Holy  Body  and  Blood  and 
Thy  Holy  Wounds  for  all  the  Dying 
Sinners  that  they  receive  from  Thy  in- 
flnite  mercy  the  grace  of  flnal  persever¬ 
ance,  and  thus  be  saved  forever.  Amen. 

Our  Father.  Hail  Mary.  Glory  be  to 
the  Father. 

We  pray  Thee,  therefore,  to  help  Thy 
servants. 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy 
Precious  Blood.  My  Jesus,  mercy.  Amen. 


84  — 


IIL 

The  Sacrifice  of  Holy  Mass  and  the  Re¬ 
ception  of  Holy  Communion  for  the 
Dying  Sinners. 

There  is  no  better  means  of  assisting 
the  Dying  than  to  have  Holy  Masses 
said  and  offered  for  the  Dying.  When¬ 
ever,  therefore  your  means  allow  it, 
show  that  you  have,  indeed,  true  love  for 
your  dying  neighbor.  At  least,  often  as¬ 
sist  at  Holy  Mass  with  the  intention  of- 
offering  it  up  for  them.  Accustom  your¬ 
self  to  make,  then,  the  acts  of  adoration, 
atonement,  thanksgiving,  and  petition 
for  them  and,  as  it  were,  in  their  stead. 
Particularly,  at  the  moment  of  Conse¬ 
cration,  offer  up  with  all  fervor  the  most 
Holy  Body  and  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
His  Heavenly  Father  that  He  may  ap¬ 
ply  to  the  souls  of  the  Dying  the  merits 
of  Christ’s  redemption.  - 


Frequently,  and,  if  possible,  even 
daily  receive  Holy  Communion.  At  that 
blessed  moment  ask  Jesus  Christ,  then 


85  — 


present  in  your  heart,  by  His  ardent  de¬ 
sire  for  the  Salvation  of  souls,  to  spare 
and  save  the  Poor  Dying  Sinners.  You 
may  use  the  following  prayers,  specially 
composed  to  help  the  Dying : 

» 

Prayers  at  Mass  for  the  Dying. 

7.  Before  Mass. 

0,  my  Jesus,  I  firmly  believe  that  the 
Sacrifice  of  Mass  is  the  renewal  of  that 
great  sacrifice  which  Thou  didst  offer  at 
the  Last  Supper  and  on  the  Cross  for 
the  salvation  of  the  world.  Grant  me 
the  grace  to  assist  at  it  with  due  atten¬ 
tion  and  devotion,  in  union  with  Thy 
sorrowful  Mother,  standing  under  the 
Cross.  Through  the  hands  of  Mary,  Thy 
Immaculate  Mother,^!  wish  to  offer  this 
and  all  other  holy  Masses  that  are  cele¬ 
brated  today  all  over  the  world  for  the 
eternal  salvation  of  the  Dying  Sinners, 
the  deliverance  of  the  poor  souls  in  pur¬ 
gatory,  and  the  welfare  of  this  house, 
and  of  all  those  for  whom  I  am  bound 
and  Thou  wishest  me  to  pray.  My  Je¬ 
sus,  Mercy.  Amen. 


—  86  — 


I 

II.  At  the  Beginning  of  Mass. 

0,  my  God,  with  all  the  angels  and 
saints,  I  humbly  adore  Thee,  most  Holy 
Trinity,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
and  in  order  to  give  due  honor  to  Thy 
divine-  majesty,  I  offer  up  through  my 
Mother  Mary,  all  the  praise  and  homage 
which  Jesus  Christ,  Thy  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  Thou  art  well  pleased,  did  offer 
in  his  mortal  life,  and  is  still  offering  in 
this  most  holy  sacrifice.  Honor,  praise,  • 
and  adoration,  now  and  forever  to  Thy: 
most  Holy  Name,  through  Jesus  Christ,  : 
Thy  Son,  our  Lord  and  Savior.  Mayest  < 
Thou  be  also  glorified  by  the  Salvation' 
of 'the  Poor  Dying  Sinners  that  they 
may  praise  with  us  Thy  infinite  mercy  . 
for  all  eternity.  My  J esus,  Mercy.  Amen. 

III.  At  the  Offertory. 

Almighty  and  eternal  God,  I  offer 
Thee  through  the  hands  of  the  priest 
and  my  Immaculate  Mother  Mary,  this 
bread  and  wine  in  union  with  my  body 
and  soul  and  all  I  have  that  it  may  be¬ 
come  a  most  pleasing  sacrifice  to  Thy  di-  . 


—  87 


vine  majesty.  In  order  to  render  Thee 
due  thanksgiving,  I  oiler  up  all  the 
thanks  that  Thy  divine  Son  gives  to 
Thee  in  this  august  sacrifice  for  all  the 
benefits,  graces  and  favors  bestowed 
upon  me  and  all  mankind,  but  especially 
upon  the  Dying  Sinners  that  their  in¬ 
gratitude  may  not  hinder  the  grace  of 
true  conversion.  What  thanks  will  they 
offer  Thee  for  all  eternity,  if  like  the 
penitent  thief  they  will  hear  the  consol¬ 
ing  words :  ‘  ‘  This  day  thou  shalt  be 
with  me  in  paradise.”  My  Jesus,  Mercy. 
Amen. 

IV.  After  the  Consecration. 

0  Jesus,  my  Savior,  I  firmly  believe 
that  Thou  art  now  present  upon  the 
altar,  with  Thy  body  and  soul.  Thy 
flesh  and  blood.  Thy  humanity  and  di¬ 
vinity.  I  most  profoundly  adore  Thee 
with  all  the  holy  angels  that  invisibly 
surround  Thy  altar.  Thou  now  renewest 
the  great  sacrifice  of  the  Cross.  Through 
the  hands  of  Mary,  Thy  Immaculate 
Mother,  I  offer  up  this  Thy  sacred  body 


—  88  — 


and  Thy  most  holy  blood,  as  atonement 
for  my  many  sins,  and  those  of  the 
whole  world,  but  especially  for  the  Poor 
Dying  Sinners.  Plead  Thou,  O  Jesus, 
for  them,  with  Thy  blood  and  Thy  most 
holy  wounds,  at  the  throne  of  Thy  mer¬ 
ciful  Father!  May  Thy  body  preserve 
their  souls  to  life  everlasting,  and  Thy 
blood  again  be  shed,  for  the  remission  of 
their  sins,  that  Thou  didst  not  suffer  and 
die  in  vain  for  them.  My  Jesus,  Mercy. 
Amen. 

V.  At  the  Communion. 

0  Jesus,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
shouldst  enter  into  my  soul,  but  speak 
one  word,  and  my  soul  shall  be  healed. 
How  I  long  to  receive  Thee  now  into  my  " 
heart,  as  Thy  Holy  Church  wishes  me  to 
communicate  even  daily.  Come  then  into 
my  heart  with  all  Thy  graces  and  bless¬ 
ings!  Unite  me  most  intimately  with 
Thy  Sacred  Heart,  preserve  me  from 
sin,  let  me  always  fulfil  Thy  holy  will, 
for  Thy  greater  honor  and  glory,  and 
give  me  the  grace  of  final  perseverance. 


—  89 


I  now  recommend  to  Thee  my  parents, 
teachers,  friends,  and  enemies,  but  espe¬ 
cially  the  Dying  Sinners,  that  through 
the  graces  of  this  sacrifice  they  may  die 
united  with  Thee  and  strengthened  by 
Thy  holy  blessing.  Let  also  the  poor 
souls  share  in  the  merits  of  this  sacrifice  ! 
O  Mary,  present  these  petitions  to  Thy 
divine  Son,  that  we  all  find  grace  and 
salvation. 

My  Jesus,  Mercy.  Amen. 

YI.  Prayer  After  Holy  Communion. 

O  Jesus,  I  firmly  believe  that  Thou, 
the  Son  of  God,  and  of  my  Mother,  Mary 
Immaculate,  didst  come  into  my  heart. 
With  most  profound  humility,  I  wish  to 
honor,  praise,  love,  and  adore  Thee,  as 
Thy  Mother  Mary  and  St.  Joseph  loved 
and  adored  Thee,  when  lying  in  the 
crib.  From  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I 
thank  Thee  for  this  Holy  Communion 
and  all  the  graces  and  blessings  Thou 
didst  bring  to  my  soul.  In  return  for 
Thy  love  I  wish  to  make  now  a  complete 
sacrifice  of  myself  to  Thee,  through 


90  — 


Mary,  Thy  and  my  Immaculate  Mother. 
All  I  am,  all  I  have,  and  all  I  do,  shall 
belong  only  to  Thee !  0  Jesus,  keep  the 
thought  of  Thy  holy  presence  before  my 
mind  that  I  may  never  offend  Thee  by 
sin.  0  Jesus,  hear  my  prayer,  save  the 
Dying  Sinners,  console  the  poor  souls  in 
purgatory,  keep  me  pure  in  body  and 
soul,  and  give  now  the  fullness  of  Thy 
blessing  both  to  me  and  all  those  whom 
I  have  recommended  to  Thy  loving 
Heart.  My  Jesus,  Mercy.  Amen. 

The  Visit  and  Adoration  of  the  Blessed 

Sacrament. 

The  center  of  all  real  Catholic  devo¬ 
tion  should  be  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
For  this  reason,  the  members  of  the 
Union  and  Society  for  the  Dying  should 
love  to  visit  and  adore  the  most  Holy 
Sacrament.  There  you  find  the  loving 
Savior,  the  real  Sacred  Heart,  the  most 
Precious  Blood,  and  an  abundance  of 
graces  that  Christ  is  ready  to  distribute 
to  his  faithful  adorers  for  their  own  wel¬ 
fare  and  the  Salvation  of  those  they 


—  91  — 


wish  to  save.  At  the  foot  of  the  Taber¬ 
nacle  is  the  best  place  for  prayer,  for 
there  you  plead  with  Christ,  Who  is  con¬ 
tinually  interceding  for  man  in  the  Sac¬ 
rament  of  love  and  only  waiting  for  he¬ 
roic  souls  that  wish  to  become  like  unto 
Him,  namely,  another  Savior  for  the 
poor  Dying  Sinners.  Help  to  promote, 
as  far  as  lies  in  your  power,  the  great 
Eucharistic  movement  of  our  days.  Try 
to  be  a  daily  and  devout  communicant 
and  to  attend  the  Holy  Hour  where  it  is 
kept.  If  you  are  a  Tertiary,  or  a  child 
of  St.  Francis,  consider  that  our  holy 
Father  St.  Francis  often  spent  entire 
hours,  especially  at  night,  before  the 
Tabernacle  to  plead  for  the  poor  sinners, 
and  when  Christ  appeared  to  him  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Portiuncula,  and  told  him 
to  ask  a  favor  of  Him,  St.  Francis  would 
only  ask :  ‘  ‘  Pardon  for  the  poor  .  sin¬ 
ners.  ”  The  great  Portiuncula  Indul¬ 
gence  was  not  asked  by  St.  Francis  for 
the  poor  souls  in  purgatory,  but  for  the 
poor  sinners  here  on  earth.  Before  the 
Tabernacle,  you  will  then,  as  it  were. 


—  92  — 


storm  the  Sacred  Heart  and  the  throne 
of  Mercy,  and  obtain  the  greatest  victo¬ 
ries  over  satan  and  hell  for  the  Poor  Dy¬ 
ing  Sinners. 

Accustom  yourself,  when  entering  or 
leaving  the  church  or  chapel  to  say: 
“Honor,  Praise,  and  Adoration  without 
end,  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  most  Holy 
Sacrament.  O  Sacrament  most  holy,  O 
Sacrament  divine,  all  Praise  and  all 
Thanksgiving  be  every  moment  Thine.” 

The  beautiful  prayer  of  St.  Francis 
was: 

“We  adore  Thee,  most  Holy  Lord,  Je¬ 
sus  Christ,  here  and  in  all  Thy  churches 
that  are  in  the  whole  world,  and  we  give 
Thee  praise,  because  by  Thy  Holy  Cross 
Thou  hast  redeemed  the  world.  ’  ’ 

At  the  time  of  Adoration  you  may  say 
the  Rosary  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  for 
the  Dying  in  this  manner.  Add  after 
the  word  Jesus  in  the  Hail  Mary: 
“Praised  and  adored  in  the  most  Holy 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  .  .  .  Now  and 
forevermore,  .  .  .  Holy  Mary  ...” 

After  each  decade  insert  the  Daily 


—  93  — 


Prayer  for  the  Dying :  ‘  ‘  0  most  merci¬ 

ful  J esus  .  .  .  ’  ’ 

By  adding  the  Offerings  of  the  -Pre¬ 
cious  Blood  and  other  suitable  prayers 
from  this  Manual,  you  can  easily  spend 
an  hour  of  Adoration  that  will  please 
Jesus  and  Mary,  and  obtain  many  graces 
for  the  Dying  Sinners. 


—  94  — 


IV.  The  Immaculate  Conception  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

Mary  in  her  Immaculate  Conception 
conquered  the  devil.  For  God  said  to 
the  serpent  after  the  fall  of  man:  ‘‘1 
will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
Woman,  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed; 
She  shall  crush  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt 
lie  in  wait  for  her  heel.  ’  ’  This  singular 
privilege  is  most  dear  to  Mary,  there¬ 
fore,  when  she  appeared  at  Lourdes,  and 
was  asked  her  name,  Mary  said :  ‘  ‘  I  am 

the  Immaculate  Conception.  ’  ’  At  one  of 
these  miraculous  apparitions,  Mary  spe¬ 
cially  ordered  Bemardette  to  ‘^Pray  for 
the  Sinners  and  to  do  Penance.”  The 
special  devotion  to  the  Immaculate  Con¬ 
ception  Avill  be  then  a  great  help  to  the 
members  to  obtain  through  Mary  Im¬ 
maculate  powerful  graces  for  the  poor¬ 
est  of  sinners,  the  Dying  Sinners.  May 
then  the  Immaculate  Conception  again 
conquer  the  devil  in  the  souls  of  the  Dy¬ 
ing,  and  thus  prove  to  be  the  best 
Mother  for  the  poor  Dying  Sinners. 


—  95 


If  you  are  a  child  of  St.  Francis,  know 
that  the  devotion  to  the  Immaculate 
Conception  is  the  great  inheritance  and 
special  glory  of  the  Seraphic  Order 
;  through  the  great  Defender  of  Mary  Im¬ 
maculate,  the  blessed  John  Duns  Scotus. 
For  the  love  of  Mary  foster  a  great  ven¬ 
eration  to  this  great  servant  of  God, 
since  Mary  had  entrusted  to  him  the  de¬ 
fence  of  her  dearest  privilege.  Love  to 
say  the  Rosary  and  the  special  prayers 
in  honor  of  Mary  Immaculate  and  offer 
them  up  for  the  Dying  Sinners. 

The  Franciscan  Rosary  of  the  Seven 
Joys  of  Mary  Immaculate. 

This  Rosary  consists  of  seven  Decades 
and  each  decade  of  one  Our  Father,  ten 
Hail  Mary’s  and  one  Glory  be  to  the 
Father. 

For  the  seven  joyful  mysteries  add 
after  the  word  Jesus  in  the  Hail  Mary: 

1)  Whom  thou,  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary  with  joy  didst  conceive  by  the 
j  Holy  Ghost. 


—  96 


2)  Whom  thou,  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary  with  joy  didst  carry  to  Elizabeth. 

3)  Whom  thou,  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary  with  joy  didst  bear  in  Bethlehem. 

4)  Whom  thou.  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary  with  joy  didst  offer  to  the  Magi 
for  adoration. 

5)  Whom  thou.  Immaculate  Virgin 
Mary  with  joy  didst  find  again  in  the  - 
temple. 

6)  Whom  thou.  Immaculate  Virgin  . 
Mary  with  joy  didst  first  see  again  after  . 
His  Kesurrection. 

7)  Who  assumed  thee  Immaculate 
Virgin  Mary  with  joy  into  heaven  and 
crowned  thee  Queen  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

Add  two  Hail  Mary’s  in  honor  of  the 
72  years  of  Mary  and  one  Our  Father, 
Hail  Mary,  and  Glory  be  to  the  Father, 

.  .  .  for  the  intention  of  the  Holy 

Father  to  gain  the  Plenary  Indulgence 
granted  to  all  the  members  of  the  3 
Orders  of  St.  Francis,  whenever  they 
say  this  Rosary.  (Sept.  7,  1901.) 


» \  • 


I  f 

r 

—  97  — 

1  Saturday,  Specially  Devoted  to  Mary 

•  j  Immacidate. 

>  A  beautiful  devotion  for  Saturday  in 

•  honor  of  Mary  Immaculate  is : 

1  f- 

j  i  The  Little  Rosary  of  the  Immacidate 
[•  Conception. 

In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the 
I  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

K  1)1  give  Thee  thanks,  eternal  Heav- 
1"  enly  Father,  because  by  Thy  Omnipo- 
tence  Thou  hast  preserved  the  Blessed 
7  Virgin  Mary,  Thy  Daughter,  from  all 
j  stain  of  original  sin.  Then  say  4  Hail 
i'  Mary ’s  and  after  each  these  words : 
r  “Blessed  be  the  holy,  most  pure,  and 
I  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed 
! .  Virgin  Mary.  ’  ’  Then  Glory  be  to  the 
!  Father,  .  .  . 

1.  2)  I  give  Thee  thanks,  eternal  Divine 

I  Son,  because  by  Thy  Wisdom  Thou  hast 
I  preserved  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Thy 
i  Mother,  from  all  stain  of  original  sin. 

’  ...  4  Hail  Mary ’s,  and  after  each  Hail 

j  Mary  these  words : 

'  “Blessed  be  the  holy,  most  pure,  and 

i 

1 


—  98  — 


Immaculate  Conception'  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary.”  Then  Glory  be  to  the 
Father,  .  .  . 

'3)  I  give  Thee  thanks,  eternal  Holy 
Ghost,  because  by  Thy  Love  Thou  hast 
preserved  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Thy 
Spouse,  from  all  stain  of  original  sin. 
...  4  Hail  Mary ’s,  and  after  each  Hail 
Mary  these  words : 

^‘Blessed  be  the  holy,  most  pure,  and 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary.”  Then  Glory  he  to  the 
Father,  .  .  . 

The  Three  Hail  Mary’s  in  Honor  of 
Mary  Immaculate. 

Accustom  yourself  to  say  them  fre¬ 
quently,  if  possible,  every  morning  and 
evening.  Add  to  each  Hail  Mary  the 
following  invocations: 

‘‘0  Mary,  conceived  without ^ stain  of 
original  sin.  Pray  for  us,  who  have  re¬ 
course  to  thee.  ’  ’ 

(100  days,  once  a  day,  March  15,  1884.) 

‘‘Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my  Salva¬ 
tion.  ’  ’ 

(300  days  each  time.  Sept.  30,  1852.) 


99  — 


The  Memorare. 


Remember,  0  most  gracious  Virgin 
Mary,  that  never  was  it  known  that  any 
one  who  fled  to  thy  protection,  implored 
'  thy  help,  and  sought  thy  intercession, 
was  left  unaided.  Inspired  with  this 
confldence,  I  fly  unto  thee,  0  Virgin  of 
virgins,  my  Mother !  To  thee  I  come ; 
before  thee  I  stand,  sinful  and  sorrow¬ 
ful.  0  Mother  of  the  Word  Incarnate! 
despise  not  my  petitions,  but  in  thy 
mercy,  hear  and  answer  me.  Amen. 

(300  days,  Dec.  11,  1846.) 

“0  Mary,  who  didst  come  into  this 
world  free  from  stain !  obtain  of  God  for 
me  that  I  may  leave  it  without  sin.  ’  ’ 

(100  days,  March  27,  1863.) 


Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 


Kyrie,  eleison. 

Christe,  eleison. 

Kyrie,  eleison. 

Christe,  audi  nos. 
Christe,  exaudi  nos. 


Lord,  have  mercy  on 
us. 

Christ,  have  mercy 
on  us. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on 
us. 

Christ,  hear  us. 

Christ,  graciously 
hear  us. 


100  — 


Pater  de  coelis  Deus, 
miserere  nobis. 

Pili  Redemptor 
mundi  Deus,  mise¬ 
rere  nobis. 

Spiritus  Sancte 
Deus,  miserere  no¬ 
bis. 

S  a  n  c  t  a  Trinitas, 
unus  Deus,  mise¬ 
rere  nobis. 

Sancta  Maria, 

Ora  pro  nobis. 

Sancta  Dei  Genitrix, 
Ora  pro  nobis. 

Sancta  Virgo  Virgi- 
num.  Ora  pro  nobis. 

Mater  Cbristi. 

Mater  divinae  gra- 
tiae. 

Mater  purissima. 

Mater  castissima. 

Mater  inviolata. 

Mater  intemerata. 

Mater  amabilis. 

Mater  admirabilis. 

Mater  boni  consilii. 

Mater  Creatoris. 


God,  the  Father  of 
heaven,  have  mercy 
on  us. 

God,  the  Son,  Re¬ 
deemer  of  the  world, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

God  the  Holy  Ghost, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

Holy  Trinity,  one 
God,  have  mercy  on 
us. 

Holy  Mary, 

Pray  for  us. 

Holy  Mother  of  God. 

Holy  Virgin  of  vir¬ 
gins. 

Mother  of  Christ. 

Mother  of  divine- 
grace. 

Mother  most  pure. 

Mother  most  chaste. 

Mother  inviolate. 

Mother  undefiled. 

Mother  most  amia¬ 
ble. 

Mother  most  admir¬ 
able. 

Mother  of  good  coun¬ 
sel. 

Mother  of  our  Cre-  - 
ator. 


—  101  — 


Mater  Salvatoris. 

Virgo  prudentissima. 

Virgo  veneranda. 

Virgo  praedicanda. 

Virgo  potens. 

Virgo  Clemens. 

Virgo  fidelis. 

Speculum  justitiae. 
Sedes  sapientiae. 
Causa  nostrae  laeti- 
tiae. 

Vas  spirituale. 

Vas  honorabile. 

Vas  insigne  devo- 
tionis. 

Rosa  mystica, 
Turris  Davidica. 
Turris  eburnea. 
Domus  aurea. 
Foederis  area. 

Janua  coeli. 

Stella  matutina. 
Salus  infirmorum. 
Refugium  peccato- 
rum. 


Mother  of  our  Re¬ 
deemer. 

Virgin  most  pru¬ 
dent. 

Virgin  most  venera¬ 
ble. 

Virgin  most  re¬ 
nowned. 

Virgin  most  power¬ 
ful. 

Virgin  most  merci¬ 
ful. 

Virgin  most  faith¬ 
ful. 

Mirror  of  justice. 

Seat  of  wisdom. 

Cause  of  our  joy. 

Spiritual  vessel. 

Vessel  of  honor. 

Vessel  of  singular 
devotion. 

Mystical  rose. 

Tower  of  David. 

Tower  of  ivory. 

House  of  gold. 

Ark  of  the  covenant. 

Gate  of  heaven. 

Morning  star. 

Health  of  the  sick. 

Refuge  of  sinners. 


—  102  — 


Consolatrix  afflicto- 
rum. 

Auxilium  Christia- 
norum. 

Regina  Angelorum. 

Regina  patriarcha- 
rum. 

Regina  propheta- 
rum. 

Regina  apostolorum. 

Regina  martyrum. 

Regina  confessorum. 

Regina  virginum. 

Regina  Sanctorum 
omnium. 

Regina  sine  1  a  b  e 
originali  concepta. 

Regina  sacratissimi 
Rosarii. 

Regina  Ordinis  Min- 
orum. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis 
peccata  m  u  n  d  i , 
parce  nobis,  Dom- 
ine. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis 
peccata  mundi,  ex- 
audi  nos,  Domine. 


Comfortress  of  the 
afflicted. 

Jlelp  of  Christians. 

Queen  of  angels. 

Queen  of  patriarchs. 

Queen  of  prophets. 

Queen  of  apostles. 

Queen  of  martyrs. 

Queen  of  confessors. 

Queen  of  virgins. 

Queen  of  all  saints. 

Queen  conceived 
without  stain  of 
original  sin. 

Queen  of  the  most 
holy  Rosary. 

Queen  of  the  Order 
of  Minors. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who 
takest  away  the  sins 
of  the  world,  spare 
us,  O  Lord. 

Lamb  of  God,  Who 
takest  away  the  sins 
of  the  world,  gra¬ 
ciously  hear  us,  O 
Lord. 


—  103 


■  Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis 
peccata  mundi,  mi¬ 
serere  nobis! 


Tota  pulchra  es,  Ma¬ 
ria. 

Tota  pulchra  es,  Ma¬ 
ria, 

Et  macula  originalis 
non  est  in  te. 

Et  macula  originalis 
non  est  in  te. 

Tu  gloria  Jerusalem. 

Tu  laetitia  Israel. 

Tu  honorificentia 
populi  nostri. 

Tu  advocata  peccato- 
rum. 

O  Maria. 

O  Maria. 

Virgo  prudentissi- 
ma. 

Mater  clementissi- 
ma. 

Ora  pro  nobis. 

Intercede  pro  nobis 
ad  Dominum  Jesum 
Christum. 


Lamb  of  God,  Who 
takest  away  the  sins 
of  the  world,  have 
mercy  on  us,  O 
Lord. 

Thou  art  all  fair, 
Mary. 

Thou  art  ^ill  fair, 
Mary. 

And  original  sin  is 
not  in  thee. 

And  original  sin  is 
not  in  thee. 

Thou  art  the  glory 
of  Jerusalem. 

Thou  art  the  joy  of 
Israel. 

Thou  art  the  honor 
of  our  people. 

Thou  art  the  advo¬ 
cate  of  sinners. 

O  Mary. 

O  Mary. 

Virgin  most  prudent. 

Mother  most  clem¬ 
ent. 

Pray  for  us. 

Intercede  for  us  with 
Jesus  Christ,  our 
Lord. 


104  — 


In  conceptione  tua, 
Virgo  immaculata 
fuisti. 

Ora  pro  nobis  Pa- 
trem,  cujus  Filium 
peperisti. 

Oremus. 

Dens,  qui  per  im- 
maculatam  Virginis 
Conceptionem  di- 
gnum  filio  tuo  habi- 
taculum  praeparasti, 
quaesumus,  ut  qui  ex 
morte  ejusdem  filii 
tui  praevisa  earn  ab 
omni  labe  praeser- 
vasti,  nos  quoque 
mundos  ejus  inter- 
cessione  ad  te  per- 
venire  concedas.  Per 
eundem  Christum, 
Dominum  nostrum. 
Amen. 


In  tby  conception  O  ! 
Virgin,  thou  wast 
immaculate. 

Pray  for  us  to  the 
Father,  Whose  Son 
thou  didst  bring 
forth. 

Let  us  Pray. 

O  God,  Who 
through  the  Immac¬ 
ulate  Conception  of 
the  Virgin  didst  pre¬ 
pare  a  worthy  habi¬ 
tation  for  Thy  Son, 
we  beseech  Thee, 
that  as  by  the  fore¬ 
sight  of  the  death  of 
Thy  same  Son,  Thou 
didst  preserve  her 
from  all  stain,  Thou 
wouldest  grant  that 
we  too,  purified  by 
her  intercession  may 
come  to  Thee. 
Through  the  same 
Christ,  our  Lord.  , 
Amen. 


Devotion  to  the  Sorrowful  Mother  of 

God. 

Mary  Immaculate  suffered  with  her 
Divine  Son  and  offered  up  all  her  suf- 


—  105  — 


ferings  in  union  with  the  bitter  Passion 
and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  Sal¬ 
vation  of  the  poor  sinners.  It  will  there¬ 
fore  please  Mary  Immaculate,  if  we 
piously  venerate  her  sorrows  and  ask 
her  compassionate  Mother’s  heart  to 
offer  them  up  again  for  the  Poor  Dying 
Sinners.  The  following  prayers  may  be 
used  for  this  purpose : 

Prayer  to  the  Compassionate  Heart  of 

Mary. 

0  sweetest  mother  Mary,  refuge  of 
sinners  and  comforter  of  the  afflicted, 
we  pray  thee,  by  the  sorrows  of  thy  im¬ 
maculate  Heart  and  by  the  agony  of  the 
Heart  of  Jesus,  thy  most  beloved  Son, 
intercede  for  all  sinners  that  are  now  in 
their  agony,  show  thyself  a  kind  mother 
to  all  souls  oppressed  with  sorrow  and 
afflictions.  Amen. 

Compassionate  Heart  of  Mary,  pray 
for  the  dying  and  afflicted. 

Prayer  to  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross. 

0  Mary,  glorious  and  blessed  Virgin, 
who  didst  die  consumed  by  the  fire  of 


—  106  — 


divine  love,  pray  for  us,  poor  sinners, 
now  and  at  the  hour  of  our  death.  Do 
not  forsake  us  unfortunate  children  at 
the  last  moment.  Thou,  who  wast  stand¬ 
ing  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  thy  dying 
Son,  accept  now  the  last  sighs  of  those 
that  invoke  thee  with  full  confidence.. 
Remember  that  death,  which  was  a  tri¬ 
umph  for  thee,  is  a  chastisement  for  us. 
Have  pity  on  so  many  unfortunate  chil¬ 
dren  who  call  thee  their  mother  and 
their  hope.  Pray  for  us  all,  assist  us  all. 
Obtain  for  us  the  grace  that  we  bear  our 
sufferings  with  patience,  and  generously 
make  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  our  life. 
Amen. 

Prayer  to  Oiir  Lady  of  Sorrows. 

O,  most  merciful  Virgin  Mary,  help 
of  Christians,  and  consolation  of  af¬ 
flicted  souls,  I  entreat  thee,  through  thy 
most  compassionate  heart,  and  by  the 
agony  of  Jesus,  thy  beloved  Son,  to  ob¬ 
tain  for  me  and  for  all  those  whom  it 
shall  please  our  Lord  to  try  by  affliction, 
sufferings,  or  temptation,  especially  at 


—  107  — 


their  last  hour,  the  grace  to  support 
them  with  perfect  resignation,  to  accept 
them  with  cordial  submission,  to  unite 
them  to  the  holy  dispositions  of  thy  most 
afflicted  heart,  and  of  the  Agonizing 
Heart  of  thy  Divine  Son.  Sanctify 
them,  that  they  may  merit  for  heaven 
and  serve  as  an  expiation  for  my  faults, 
and  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  particu¬ 
larly  for  those  who  are  in  their  agony. 

Obtain  for  us,  0  Queen  of  Martyrs,  at 
each  new  trial,  the  strength  and  courage 
to  say  with  the  great  Model  of  the  af¬ 
flicted,  ‘‘My  Father,  if  this  chalice  can¬ 
not  pass  unless  I  drink  it,  not  my  will, 
but  Thine,  be  done.”  Amen. 


4 


—  108  — 


V.  Devotion  to  St.  Michael,  the  Holy 
Angels,  and  Our  Patron  Saints. 

St.  Michael  led  the  battle  of  God  in  i 
heaven  against  the  had  angels.  He  will 
therefore  gladly  assist  ns  with  his  good . 
angels,  especially  the  Guardian- Angels, 
to  obtain  another  victory  over  satan  by 
the  Salvation  of  the  Dying  Sinners. 
Also  our  good  Patron-Saints  will  help  us 
by  their  intercession  at  the  throne  of 
mercy  and  thus  become  powerful  allies. 

Recommendation  to  St.  Michael,  Protec¬ 
tor  of  Souls. 

0  glorious  Archangel,  St.  Michael,  j 
who  didst  fight  with  so  great  courage  ^ 
against  the  rebellious  angels,  come  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Dying.  Behold  with 
what  fury  the  demons  surround  their- 
death-beds  to  devour  them !  See  with-  ‘ 
what  perfidy  Satan  strives  to  keep  them 
in  the  chains  of  sins,  to  make  their  ^ 
hearts  obdurate,  and  finally  to  cast  them  ^ 
into  hell !  0  loving  protector  of  souls, 

hasten  to  assist  the  Dying.  Excite  in  ; 
them  the  sentiments  of  a  lively  faith  and  i  a 


i 


—  109  — 

sincere  contrition,  reanimate  their  confi- 
►  dence,  enkindle  in  their  hearts  the  fire 
of  divine  love,  alleviate  their  sufferings, 
obtain  for  them  the  grace  of  resignation, 
defend  them  in  their  agony,  and  after 
having  assisted  them  to  gain  the  victory, 
conduct  them  to  the  abode  of  the  elect. 
Amen. 

Prayer  to  the  Guardian  Angels  of  the 
i  Dying. 

0  Blessed  Guardian  Angels,  I  pray 
j  you  by  the  Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus 
‘  and  the  Compassionate  Heart  of  Mary, 
your  immaculate  Queen,  intercede  for 
the  Dying  entrusted  to  your  care.  Pre¬ 
serve  them  from  evil,  confirm  them  in 
j  all  virtue,  deliver  them  from  the  snares 
of  Satan,  that  by  your  assistance  they 
1  may  obtain  the  grace  of  a  happy  death 
and  after  death  be  admitted  to  the  com¬ 
pany  of  the  Saints.  Amen. 

!  Prayer  to  the  Angel  that  Comforted  Je- 
1  sus  Agonizing  in  the  Garden  of  Olives. 

0  holy  Angel  who  didst  comfort  Jesus 
;  agonizing  in  the  garden  of  Olives,  deign 


110 


to  strengthen  those  who  are  now  strug¬ 
gling  with  death.  Intercede  for  them! 
Secure  to  them  strength  and  courage  to 
resist  the  assaults  of  the  demon,  to  bear 
their  sufferings  with  patience,  and  to 
make  willingly  to  God  the  sacrifice  of 
their  life.  Ask  their  Guardian  Angels, 
their  Patron  Saints,  and  the  whole  celes¬ 
tial  court  to  obtain  for  them  all  the 
graces  and  to  come  to  their  assistance. 
Ask  above  all  the  Queen  of  Angels,  the 
august  Mother  of  God,  to  protect  the 
Dying  by  her  powerful  assistance  and  to 
be  their  advocate  with  her  Divine  Son 
Jesus  that  He  may  show  mercy  and  give 
them  the  grace  of  a  happy  death.  Amen. 

Prayer  to  Our  Holy  Father  St.  Francis. 

0  holy  Father,  St.  Francis,  thou  per¬ 
fect  image  of  our  Crucified  Savior,  who 
by  thy  meditation  on  the  sufferings  of 
Jesus,  thy  singular  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  thy  love  for 
Mary,  the  Queen  of  Angels,  didst  fill  thy 
Seraphic  heart  not  only  with  most  ar¬ 
dent  love  for  God,  but  also  with  the 


—  Ill  — 


greatest  desire  to  convert  and  save  the 
poor  sinners,  help  us  by  thy  powerful 
intercession  to  imitate  thy  holy  example, 
often  to  meditate  on  the  bitter  Passion 
of  Christ,  to  foster  a  special  love  for  Je¬ 
sus  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  His 
dear  mother,  Mary  Immaculate,  and 
thus  to  be  able  with  thy  fatherly  help  to 
save  many  a  poor  Dying  Sinner  for  all 
eternity.  Amen, 

Invocation  of  the  Patron  Saints  of  the 
Confraternity. 

Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  the  Dying. 

Compassionate  Heart  of  Mary,  pray 
for  the  Dying  and  the  afflicted. 

St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  a  happy  death, 
pray  for  the  Dying. 

St.  Michael,  the  Archangel,  protector 
of  souls,  pray  for  the  Dying. 

Holy  Guardian  Angels,  and  Patron 
Saints  of  the  Dying,  pray  for  the  Dying. 

Holy  Angel  who  didst  comfort  Jesus 
in  His  Agony,  pray  for  the  Dying. 


112  — 


St.  John  and  St.  Magdalene,  who  as¬ 
sisted  at  the  Agony  and  Death  of  Jesus 
on  the  cross,  pray  for  the  Dying. 

Seraphic  St.  Francis,  perfect  image  of 
our  crucified  Savior,  pray  for  the  Dying. 

St.  Camillus  of  Lellis,  and  St.  John  of 
God,  favored  with  the  gift  of  assisting 
souls  in  the  last  struggle  of  death,  pray 
for  the  Dying. 

Holy  Penitent  Thief,  who  at  the  last 
moment  didst  hear  from  the  mouth  of 
Jesus  the  consoling  words:  ‘‘This  day 
thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise,  ’  ’  pray 
for  the  Dying  Sinners. 


< 


—  113 


VL  The  Prayers  of  the  Church  for  the 

Dying. 

Litany  for  the  Dying. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  him  (or  her). 
Christ,  have  mercy  on  him. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  him. 

Holy  Mary,  pray  for  him  (or  her). 
All  ye  holy  Angels  and  Archangels, 
pray  for  him  (or  her). 

Holy  Abel,  *  ) 

All  ye  choirs  of  the  Just, 

Holy  Abraham, 

St.  John  Baptist, 

St.  Joseph, 

All  ye  holy  Patriarchs  and  Prophets, 
St.  Peter, 

St.  Paul, 

St.  Andrew, 

St.  John, 

All  ye  holy  Apostles  and  Evangelists, 
All  ye  holy  disciples  of  our  Lord, 

All  ye  holy  Innocents, 

St.  Stephen, 


*)  Pray  for  him  (her) 


114  — 


St.  Lawrence,  *) 

All  ye  holy  Martyrs, 

St.  Sylvester, 

St.  Gregory, 

St.  Augustine, 

All  ye  holy  Bishops  and  Confessors, 

St.  Benedict, 

St.  Francis, 

St.  Camillus  of  Lellis  and  St.  John  of 
God, 

All  ye  holy  Monks  and  Hermits, 

St.  Mary  Magdalene. 

St.  Lucy. 

All  ye  holy  Virgins  and  Widows. 

All  ye  men  and  women.  Saints  of  God, 
intercede  for  him  (or  her). 

Be  merciful  unto  him,  0  God.  Spare 
him  (or  her),  0  Lord. 

Be  merciful  unto  him.  Deliver  him 
(or  her),  0  Lord. 

Be  merciful  unto  him.  Deliver  him 
(or  her),  0  Lord. 

Prom  Thy  wrath,  **) 


*)  Pray  for  him  (or  her) 

**)  Deliver  him  (or  her)  O  Lord. 


115 


From  the  danger  of  eternal  death,  * ) 
From  an  evil  death, 

From  the  pains  of  hell, 

From  all  evil. 

From  the  power  of  the  devil. 

By  Thy  Nativity, 

By  Thy  Cross  and  Passion, 

By  Thy  Death  and  Burial, 

By  Thy  glorious  Resurrection, 

By  Thy  Wonderful  Ascension, 

By  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Comforter, 

In  the  day  of  Judgment, 

We  sinners  beseech  Thee  to  hear  us. 
That  Thou  spare  him,  we  beseech 
Thee  to  hear  us. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  him. 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  him. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  him. 

Recommendation  of  a  Departing  Soul. 

Go  forth,  O  Christian  soul,  out  of  this 
world,  in  the  name  of  God,  the  Father 
Almighty,  Who  created  thee ;  in  the 


*)  Deliver  him  (or  her)  O  Lord, 


—  116  — 


name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  liv¬ 
ing  God,  Who  suffered  for  thee;  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Who  sanctified 
thee ;  in  the  name  of  the  Angels,  Archan¬ 
gels,  Thrones,  and  Dominations,  Cheru¬ 
bim  and  Seraphim;  in  the  name  of  the 
Patriarchs  and  Prophets,  of  the  holy 
Apostles  and  Evangelists,  of  the  holy 
Martyrs,  Confessors,  Monks  and  Her¬ 
mits,  of  the  holy  Virgins,  and  of  all  the 
Saints  of  God.  May  thy  place  be  this 
day  in  peace,  and  thy  abode  in  holy 
Sion.  Through  Christ,  our  Lord.  Amen. 

0  merciful  and  gracious  God !  0  God, 
Who  according  to  the  multitude  of  Thy 
mercies  blottest  out  the  sins  of  such  as' 
repent,  and  graciously  remittest  the 
guilt  of  their  past  offences,  mercifully 
regard  this  Thy  servant,  N.,  and  grant 
him  (or  her)  a  full  discharge  from  all 
his  sins,  who  with  a  contrite  heart  most 
earnestly  begs  it  of  Thee.  Renew,  0 
-merciful  Father,  whatever  has  been 
vitiated  in  him,  by  human  frailty  or  by 
the  frauds  and  deceits  of  the  enemy; 
and  associate  him  as  a  member  of  re- 


—  117 


demption  to  the  unity  of  the  body  of  the 
Church.  Have  compassion,  0  Lord,  on 
his  sighs,  have  compassion  on  his  tears, 
and  admit  him,  who  has  no  hope  but  in 
Thy  mercy,  to  the  sacrament,  of  Thy 
reconciliation.  Through  Christ,  our 
Lord.  Amen. 

I  commend  thee,  dear  brother,  to  the 
Almighty  God,  and  consign  thee  to  the 
care  of  Him,  whose  creature  thou  art, 
that,  when  thou  shalt  have  paid  the  debt 
of  all  mankind  by  death,  thou  mayest  re¬ 
turn  to  Thy  Maker,  Who  formed  thee 
from  the  dust  of  the  earth.  When,  there¬ 
fore,  thy  soul  shall  depart  from  thy 
body,  may  the  resplendent  multitude  of 
the  Angels  meet  thee;  may  the  court  of 
the  Apostles  receive  thee;  may  the  tri¬ 
umphant  army  of  glorious  Martyrs  come 
out  to  welcome  thee;  may  the  splendid 
company  of  Confessors,  clad  in  their 
white  robes,  encompass  thee;  may  the 
choir  of  joyful  Virgins  receive  thee ;  and 
mayest  thou  meet  with  a  blessed  repose 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Patriarchs.  May 
Jesus  Christ  appear  to  thee  with  a  mild 


—  118  — 


and  joyful  countenance,  and  appoint 
thee  a  place  amongst  those  who  are  to 
stand  before  Him  forever.  Mayest  thou 
be  a  stranger  to  all  that  is  punished 
with  darkness,  chastised  with  flames, 
and  condemned  to  torments.  May  the 
most  wicked  enemy,  with  all  his  evil 
spirits,  be  forced  to  give  way;  may  he 
tremble  at  thy  approach  in  the  company 
of  Angels,  and  with  confusion  fly  away 
into  the  vast  chaos  of  eternal  night.  Let 
God  arise  and  His  enemies  be  dispersed, 
and  let  them  that  hato  Him  fly  before 
His  face,  let  them  vanish  like  smoke; 
and  as  wax  that  melts  before  the  fire,  so 
let  sinners  perish  in  the  sight  of  God; 
but  may  the  just  rejoice  and  be  happy 
in  His  presence. 

May  then  all  the  legions  of  hell  be 
confounded  and  put  to  shame ;  and  may 
none  of  the  ministers  of  Satan  dare  stop 
thee  in  thy  way.  May  Christ  deliver 
thee  from  torments.  Who  was  crucified 
for  thee.  May  He  deliver  thee  from  eter¬ 
nal  death.  Who  vouchsafed  to  die  for 
thee.  May  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 


V 


119 


living  God,  place  thee  in  the  ever-ver- 
dant  lawns  of  His  Paradise,  and  may 
He,  the  true  Shepherd,  acknowledge  thee 
as  one  of  His  flock.  May  He  absolve 
thee  from  all  thy  sins,  and  place  thee  at 
His  right  hand  in  the  midst  of  His  Elect. 
Mayest  thou  see  thy  Redeemer  face  to 
face,  and,  standing  always  in  His  pres¬ 
ence,  behold  with  happy  eyes  the  most 
clear  truth.  And  mayest  thou  be  placed 
among  the  companies  of  the  Blessed, 
and  enjoy  the  sweetness  of  the  contem¬ 
plation  of  thy  God  forever.  Amen. 


—  120  — 


YII.  Litany  for  a  Happy  Death. 

To  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

0  Lord  Jesus,  God  of  goodness,  the 
Father  of  mercies,  I  approach,  to  Thee 
with  a  humble  and  contrite  heart;  to 
Thee  I  recommend  the  last  hour  of  my 
life,  and  the  decisions  of  my  eternal 
doom. 

When  my  feet,  benumbed  with  death, 
shall  admonish  me  that  my  mortal 
course  is  drawing  to  an  end.  Merciful 
Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  eyes,  dim  and  troubled  at 
the  approach  of  death,  shall  fix  them¬ 
selves  on  Thee,  my  last  and  only  sup¬ 
port,  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  face,  pale  and  livid,  shall 
inspire  the  beholders  with  pity  and  dis¬ 
may,  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  hair  is  bathed  with  the 
sweat  of  death,  and  stiffening  on  my 
head  shall  forebode  my  approaching  end. 
Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  ears,  soon  forever  to  be  shut 
to  the  discourse  of  men,  shall  be  open  to 


—  121  — 


r 

I 

J  . 

f.  the  irrevocable  decree  which  is  to  cut  me 
'  off  from  the  number  of  the  living,  Mer- 
ciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

^  When  my  imagination,  agitated  by 
f  dreadful  spectres,  shall  be  sunk  in  an 
j,  abyss  of  anguish.  Merciful  Jesus,  have 
mercy  on  me. 

When  my  soul,  affrighted  with  the 
>  sight  of  my  iniquities,  and  the  terrors 

(of  Thy  judgments,  shall  have  to  fight 
against  the  angel  of  darkness,  who  will 
t  endeavor  to  conceal  Thy  mercies  from 
)  my  eyes,  and  to  plunge  me  into  despair, 
I  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

I  When  my  poor  heart,  yielding  to  the 
‘  pressure  and  exhausted  by  its  frequent 
struggles  against  the  enemies  of  its  sal- 
i  vation,  shall  feel  the  pangs  of  death, 

'  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

J  When  the  last  tear,  the  forerunner  of 
■  my  dissolution,  shall  drop  from  my  eyes, 
receive  it  as  a  sacrifice  of  expiation  for 
my  sins,  grant  that  I  may  expire  the 
victim  of  penance,  and  in  that  dreadful 
;  moment.  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on 
me. 


—  122 


When  my  friends  and  relations  en¬ 
circling  my  bed,  shall  shed  tears  of  pity 
over  me,  and  invoke  Thy  clemency  in 
my  behalf.  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  me. 

When  I  have  lost  the  use  of  my  senses, 
when  the  world  shall  have  vanished  from 
my  sight,  when  my  agonizing  soul  shall 
feel  the  sorrow  of  death.  Merciful  Jesus, 
have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  last  sigh  shall  summon  my 
soul  to  burst  from  the  embraces  of  the 
body,  and  to  spring  to  Thee  on  the  wings 
of  impatience  and  desire.  Merciful  Je¬ 
sus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  my  soul,  trembling  on  my  lips, 
shall  bid  adieu  to  the  world,  and  leave 
my  body  lifeless,  pale,  and  cold,  receive 
the  separation  as  a  homage,  which  I 
willingly  pay  to  Thy  Divine  Majesty, 
and  in  that  last  moment  of  my  mortal 
life.  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me. 

When  at  length,  my  soul  admitted  to 
Thy  presence,  shall  first  behold  the 
splendors  of  Thy  Majesty,  reject  me  not, 
but  receive  me  into  Thy  bosom;  where  I 


123  — 


may  forever  sing  Thy  praises,  and  in 
that  moment  when  eternity  shall  .begin 
to  me,  Merciful  Jesus,  have  mercy  on 
me.  Amen. 

To  THE  Eternal  Father.  0  God, 
Who  hast  condemned  us  to  die,  but  con¬ 
cealed  the  hour  and  moment  of  death 
from  us,  grant  that  I  may  spend  all  the 
days  of  my  life  in  justice  and  holiness 
and  thereby  merit  to  depart  from  this 
world  in  Thy  holy  love  through  the  mer¬ 
its  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  with 
Thee  liveth  and  reigneth  in  unity  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

(100  days,  once  a  day.) 


—  124  — 


YIII.  Stations  of  the  Cross  for  the 
Dying. 

N.  B.  First  reflect  a  little  on  the 
mystery  represented  by  the  station,  then 
applying  it  to  the  Dying,  say  the  prayer 
at  each  station,  after  which  add  the  fol¬ 
lowing  ejaculations  for  the  Dying  and, 
as  it  were,  in  their  stead : 

‘  ‘  My  Jesus  mercy.  ’  ’ 

(300  days.) 

‘‘Sweetest  Jesus,  be  not  to  me  a  Judge, 
but  a  Savior.’^ 

(50  days.) 

“Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my  salva¬ 
tion.  ’  ’ 

(300  days.) 

“Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  assist  me  in  my 

last  agony.  ’  ’ 

(100  days.) 

Or  “0  most  Merciful  Jesus,  lover  of 
souls.”  .  .  .  the  daily  prayer  for  the 
Dying,  page  61. 

Preparatory  Prayer. 

0  Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus!  to  as¬ 
sist  the  Dying  in  their  greatest  struggle, 
1  now  desire  to  follow  Thee  with  Mary, 
Thy  compassionate  Mother,  on  the  holy 


way  of  the  Cross.  Cleanse  my  heart 
^  from  all  sins,  and  uniting  my  prayers 
with  the  merits  of  Thy  bitter  Passion 
:  and  Death,  do  Thou  offer  them  to  Thy 
Heavenly  Father,  to  obtain  a  happy 
death  for  all  the  agonizing.  I  also  in¬ 
tend  to  gain  all  the  Indulgences, 

1  granted  to  this  devotion,  for  the  poor 
I  souls  in  purgatory.  Have,  then,  mercy, 

'  0  sweetest  Jesus,  on  all  our  suffering 
brethren,  both  the  Dying  and  the  dead. 
Amen. 

;  I.  Station.  {J esiis  condemned  to  death.) 

0  Jesus,  Who  wast  innocently  con¬ 
demned  to  death,  be  now  a  merciful 
\  Judge  to  the  Dying.  Grant  them  the 
efficacious  grace  of  conversion,  that 
Thou  mayest  not  condemn  them  to  the 
eternal  death  of  hell.  Amen.  (‘‘My 
Jesus  mercy,”  “Sweetest  Jesus,  etc.” 
...  as  above.) 

II.  Station.  (Jesus  taking  the  Cross.) 

0  Jesus,  Who  didst  willingly  take  up 
.  Thy  Cross  for  our  salvation,  bestow  now 
,  upon  all  Dying  Sinners  the  grace  to 


—  126  — 


bear  their  sufferings  with  patience,  and 
to  accept  death  with  resignation  as  an 
atonement  for  their  many  sins.  Amen. 
(‘‘My  Jesus,  mercy.”  .  .  .) 

III.  Station.  {Jesus  falling  the  first 

time. ) 

0  Jesus,  by  the  sufferings  Thou  didst 
endure,  and  by  the  Blood  Thou  didst 
shed  in  Thy  first  fall  under  the  Cross, 
deign  to  raise  the  Dying  from  their  fall 
into  sin  and  vice,  and  graciously  pre¬ 
serve  them  from  being  plunged  into  the 
abyss  of  hell.  Amen. 

IV.  Station.  {Jesus  met  hy  Mary.) 

0  Jesus  and  Mary,  by  the  pain  you 
did  feel  at  seeing  each  other  so  much 
afflicted,  hasten  to  the  assistance  of  the 
Dying,  that  so  many  and  so  great  suffer¬ 
ings  may  not  be  rendered  fruitless  in 
their  souls  by  the  assaults  of  Satan. 
Amen. 

V.  Station.  {Jesus  assisted  hy  Simon 

of  Gyrene.) 

0  Jesus,  as  Simon  assisted  Thee  in 


r 

I. 

I  —  127  — 

;  carrying  the  Cross,  do  Thou,  by  offering 
i  all  Thy  sufferings  to  Thy  Heavenly 
t  Father,  effectually  help  the  Dying  to 
•  free  themselves  from  the  heavy  weight 
I  of  their  sins.  Amen. 

j  VI.  station.  {Veronica  wiping  the  face 
■5  of  Jesus.) 

0  Jesus,  by  the  love  Thou  didst  show 
.  to  Veronica  for  her  kindness,  favorably 
;  accept  our  prayers  and  offerings  in  be- 
,  half  of  the  Dying,  and  show  them  now 
Thy  holy  Face,  by  imprinting  in  their 
souls  Thy  holy  image,  the  gift  of  sancti¬ 
fying  grace.  Amen. 

VII.  Station.  {Jesus  falling  the  second 

time.) 

0  Jesus,  by  Thy  increased  sufferings, 

.  and  by  the  holy  Blood  shed  in  Thy  sec¬ 
ond  fall,  I  pray  Thee'  to  forgive  the  Dy¬ 
ing  their  repeated  relapses  into  sin,  that 
their  faithlessness  and  ingratitude  may 
not  impede  the  grace  of  true  conversion. 
Amen. 

i - 


—  128  — 

VIII.  Station.  {Jesns  consoling  the  pious 

women.) 

0  Jesus,  as  Thou  didst  console  the 
pious  women  who  accompanied  Thee  to 
Mount  Calvary,  grant  us,  who  follow 
Thee  on  the  Way  of  the  Cross,  that  the 
Dying  may  sincerely  weep  over  their 
sins,  to  be  also  comforted  by  Thee. 
Amen. 

IX.  Station.  {Jesus  falling  the  third 

time.) 

0  Jesus,  by  Thy  unspeakable  pain, 
and  by  Thy  holy  Blood  that  flowed  to 
the  ground  in  Thy  third  fall,  remove 
from  the  souls  of  the  Dying  all  obsta¬ 
cles  to  their  conversion,  and  give  them 
the  grace  not  to  yield  in  their  last  strug¬ 
gle  to  their  vicious  habits  and  predom¬ 
inant  passions.  Amen. 

X.  Station.  {Jesus  stripped  of  His 
garments. ) 

0  Jesus,  by  the  terrible  suffering  Thou 
didst  encjure  when  being  stripped  of 
Thy  garments,  forgive  the  Dying '  all 


—  129 


their  sins  of  impurity,  and  let  them  ex¬ 
pire  clothed  with  the  garment  of  sancti¬ 
fying  grace.  Amen. 

■  XI.  Station.  (Jesus  nailed  to  the  Cross.) 

O  Jesus,  by  the  inexpressible  torture 
Thou  didst  suffer  when  being  nailed  to 
the  Cross,  and  by  Thy  holy  Blood  which 
flowed  from  the  wounds  of  Thy  hands 
and  feet,  deliver  the  Dying  from  the 
chains  of  their  sins,  and  from  the  cap¬ 
tivity  of  Satan  and  hell.  Amen. 

XII.  Station.  (Jesus  Dying  on  the 
Cross. )  -r 

0  Jesus,  by  the  infinite  merits  of  Thy 
Agony  and  Death  on  the  Cross,  assist 
the  Dying  in  their  agony  that  they  may 
expire  in  Thy  holy  grace,  and  that  Thou 
!  mayest  not  have  suffered  and  died  in 
vain  for  them.  Amen. 

XIII.  Station.  (Jesus  placed  in  the 
arms  of  Mary.) 

0  dolorous  Mother  of  God,  so  much 
afflicted  at  the  loss  of  thy  dearest  Son, 

.  obtain  now  by  thy  intercession  and  as- 


130  — 


sistance  for  all  the  Dying,  the  grace  not 
to  lose  their  Savior  for  all  eternity,  but 
to  depart  in  thy  arms  and  united  with 
Jesus  in  holy  love.  Amen. 

XIV.  Station.  {Jesus  laid  into  the 
Sepulchre.) 

0  Jesus,  as  Thou  didst  rest  from  Thy 
sufferings  and  after  three  days  glo¬ 
riously  rise  from  the  grave,  grant  that 
the  Dying  may  be  delivered  from  their 
pains  and,  triumphing  over  sin,  satan, 
and  hell,  rise  to  the  eternal  life  of 
heaven.  Amen. 

Prayer  After  the  Stations. 

0  Agonizing  Heart  of  Jesus !  I  thank 
Thee  for  all  the  graces  bestowed  upon 
the  Dying  and  upon  me  during  this  de¬ 
votion.  In  atonement  for  my  many  de¬ 
fects  do  Thou  now  offer  to  the  Divine 
Majesty  all  the  holy  Masses  in  which 
the  fruits  of  Thy  bitter  Passion  and 
Death  are  continually  renewed,  that  the 
Dying  may  not  be  lost,  and  the  poor 
souls  be  now  admitted  to  the  eternal 
joys  of  heaven.  Amen. 


131 


) 


I 

;  Three  Our  Fathers  and  Hail  Mary’s 
^  in  honor  of  the  Agony  of  Jesus  and  the 
J  Dolors  of  Mary  for  the  Dying,  ‘  ‘  0  most 
‘  Merciful  Jesus,”  etc. 


r. 

! 

f 


4 

r 


—  132  — 


IX.  Acts  to  he  Made  for  the  Moment  of 

Death. 

I.  Act  of  Resignation. 

My  Lord  and  my  God!  J  now  already 
accept  death  in  whatever  manner  it  may 
come  to  me  according  to  Thy  pleasure. 
With  a  resigned  and  willing  heart,  I  ac¬ 
cept  death  and  all  its  accompanying 
anxieties,  pains,  and  sufferings  as  com¬ 
ing  from  Thy  hands.  (A  Plenary  In¬ 
dulgence  for  the  hour  of  death  to  all 
those  who  after  Confession  and  Com¬ 
munion  will  make  this  Act  of  Resigna¬ 
tion  with  true  love  of  God.) 

II.  Act  of  Offering  of  One^s  Death  for 
the  Dying. 

0  my  God,  accepting  my  future  death 
from  Thy  hands  with  full  resignation  to 
Thy  holy  will,  1  wish  to  unite  it  with  the 
Most  Bitter  Death  of  Jesus,  my  Savior, 
and  to  offer  it  up  with  His  great  Sacri¬ 
fice  on  the  Cross  in  atonement  for  my 
many  sins,  and  for  the  Salvation  of 
those  who  will  die  at  the  same  time  and 
appear  with  me  before  the  Judgment- 


133  — 


seat  of  Thy  Son,  our  Lord  and  Savior, 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  all  may  find 
mercy  and  salvation.  Amen. 

O  sweetest  Jesus,  be  not  to  me  a 
Judge,  but  a  Savior. 

My  Jesus,  Mercy..  Sweet  Heart  of 
Mary,  be  my  Salvation.  St.  Joseph,  Pa¬ 
tron  of  a  Happy  Death,  Pray  for  us  and 
the  Poor  Dying  Sinners.  Amen. 


—  134  — 


Conclusion. 

Let  us,  then,  be  fervent  in  this  devo¬ 
tion  for  the  Dying  and  endeavor  to 
propagate  it  everywhere.  Recommend 
the  souls  of  your  Dying  parents,  rela¬ 
tions,  friends,  and  particularly  of  obsti¬ 
nate  sinners  to  the  prayers  of  the  Con¬ 
fraternity.  We  shall  not  repent  of  it  at 
the  hour  of  our  own  death.  Who  knows 
how  soon,  perhaps,  we  ourselves  shall 
need  this  very  same  assistance  ? 

Applications  for  admission  to  the 
'  Union  and  the  Confraternity  may  be 
directed  to 

Rev.  P.  Hugolinus  Storff,  O.  F.  M., 
Franciscan  Monastery, 

3140  Meramec  Street,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


—  135  —• 
INDEX. 


Introductory. 

1.  Purpose  of  the  Pious  Union  and  Condi¬ 
tion  for  Membership .  5 

2.  Act  of  Consecration  for  the  Dying .  7 

PART  FIRST. 

■  The  Salvation  of  the.  Dying  and  a  Happy 
Hour  of  Death  .  8 

I.  Object  of  the  Work  .  8 

I I.  Number  of  the  Dying  .  10 

HI.  The  Religious  Condition  of  the  Dying  13 

IV.  About  the  Act  of  Consecration  for  the 

Dying . 15 

V.  St.  Joseph,  the  Patron  of  the  Dying. .  26 

VI.  Devotions  and  Prayers  to  St.  Joseph 

for  the  Dying  .  36 

1.  The  Seven  Dolors  and  Joys  of  St. 

Joseph  for  the  Dying  .  37 

2.  Litany  of  St.  Joseph .  42 

3.  Act  of  Consecration  .to  St.  Joseph, 

Patron  of  the  Dying .  45 

4.  The  “Memorore’  ’in  Honor  of  St., 

Joseph  .  46 

5.  Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  a  Happy 

Death  .  46 

6.  Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  the  Dying 

Sinners  .  47 


136  — 


/.  Prayer  in  Honor  of  St.  Joseph  for 
the  Agonizing .  48 

8.  Prayer  to  St.  Joseph,  Patron  of  the 

Dying,  for  Perseverance .  49 

9.  Novena  in  Honor  of  St.  Joseph, 

Spouse  of  Mary,  Most  Holy .  49 

10.  Indulgenced  Prayers  to  St.  Joseph...  50 

11.  Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  the  Month 

of  October  .  51 

12.  Prayer  to  St.  Joseph  for  Grace  to 

Communicate  Devoutly  .  52 

VH.  To  the  Lovers  of  St.  Joseph  and  the 

Zealous  Workers  for  the  Dying .  54 

PART  SECOND. 

Other  Devotions  and  Prayers  for  the 
Dying. 

I.  The  Agony  of  Jesus .  60 

1.  The  Daily  Prayer  for  the  Dying .  61 

2.  The  Morning  and  Evening-Offering 

for  the  Dying .  61 

3.  Pious  Practice  for  the  Faithful  in  their 

Agony  .  62 

4.  Meditation  on  the  Agony .  63 

5.  Litany  of  Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Olives  68 

6.  Prayers  for  the  Dying .  71 

H.  The  Precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ...  76 

Nine  Offerings  of  the  Precious  Blood 
for  the  Dying  . .  77 


—  187  — 


III.  The  Sacrifice  of  Holy  Mass  and  Holy 


Communion  for  the  Dying .  84 

1.  Prayers  at  Mass  for  the  Dying .  85 

2.  The  Visit  and  Adoration  of  the  Blessed 

Sacrament  .  90 

IV.  The  Immaculate  Conception  of  the 

Blessed  Virgin  Mary  .  94 

1.  The  Franciscan  Rosary  of  the  Seven 

Joys  of  Mary  Immaculate  .  95 

2.  The  Little  Rosary  of  the  Immaculate 

Conception  . 97 

3.  The  Three  Hail  Mary’s  in  Honor  of 

Mary  Immaculate  .  98 

4.  The  “Memorare”  (Remember)  .  99 

5.  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. .  99 

6.  “Tota  Pulchra”  . 103 

7.  Devotions  to  the  Sorrowful  Mother 

of  God  . 104 

8.  Prayer  to  the  Compassionate  Heart 

of  Mary  . 105 

9.  Prayer  to  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the 

Cross  . 105 

10.  Prayer  to  our  Lady  of  Sorrows . 106 

V.  Devotion  to  St.  Michael,  the  Holy 

Angels,  and  the  Patron  Saints . 108 

1.  Recommendation  to  St.  Michael,  Pro¬ 
tector  of  Souls . 108 

2.  Prayer  to  the  Guardian  Angels  of  the 

Dying  . 109 


—  138 


3-  Prayer  to  the  Angel  that  Comforted 
Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Olives..' . 109 

4.  Prayer  to  our  Holy  Father  St.  Francis. no 

4.  Invocation  of  the  Patron  Saints  of  the 
Confraternity . in 

VI.  The  Prayers  of  the  Church  for  the 

Dying  . 113 

2.  Recommendation  of  a  Departing  Soul.  115 

VII.  Litany  for  a  Happy  Death . 120 

VHI.  Stations  of  the  Cross  for  the  Dying.  113 

IX.  Acts  to  be  made  for  the  Moment  of 

Death  . 132 

1.  Act  of  Resignation  . 132 

2,  Act  of  Offering  of  One’s  Death  for 

the  Dying . 132 

X.  Conclusion  . 134 


I 


« 

I 

I 


I 


-.•••..•■.IJ-^^’W***^'**'********* 


.Jiiijiijirihjr!:::::::;!:::!:;:: 


. . . 

. ‘ . 


. . .  . 

••I**  *'•**•'**•**** 

•  •'•Mt**^*"*i*«*****^**' ****** 


*lSi  *!•.*. a **•*•••• ••*•*•*•*•• 

„s.i*;;;;M*^r«**«M***»»*»i«*»** 


l!iS»rniS«»* 


a  ta»«<  •*••**• 

iSiitriHUit!!:!!!!:;:::;:!!;*:' 

****************!*•■■«•* ■••■taitl 

IliiiiiiiiiiiiHii  iiliiiii;” 


»•#••*«  *!•«••«  a*:2s!S2Mtt  •!{!■! 
'Jill* ••••••••f*******"*"* 


si*;!!  :! 

■  • 


S«  {•***«  S^*** 

•  «•»•«•••  - - 


Kia.riiciip*****************’ 

. . . 


13»5i 


*'***' ********* 
CtHMSMaMVO*****!*****!**** 


••a.  tvaaaatjr* «•*•••***■•** 


